♪ > > This week on the Wheelhouse.

> > Mice out has enforced been ramps up.

The kids are speaking out > > for > > Connecticut Public on Frankie Graziano.

This is the Wheelhouse.

We show that connects politics to the people.

We've got your weekly dose of politics in Connecticut and beyond right here.

Around the corner from the studio, students of the Classical Magnet School in Hartford staged a protest.

They walked out of the classroom and greeted passers by with signs.

Those signs were directed to federal law enforcement agents the action came as a wave of student walkouts were organized across America in response to recent killings of civilians by ICE agents in Minnesota.

This hour, we'll hear from students who want ice out.

So at least we'll hear about students that want ice out.

But before we get to that, we want to get to the latest on the developing conflict in Conflict in Iran and the Middle East.

Us senators really front forces struck Iran over the weekend.

President Donald Trump.

He says the attacks are in the interests of American security.

The strikes have continued since then.

And law makers have responded, including our next guest.

He says the attack happened without Trump receiving a clear mandate from the American people.

Joe Courtney is a U.S.

congressman representing Connecticut as a Democrat on Capitol Hill.

Thank you for coming on the show.

Congressman.

Thanks for Grammy and Frankie lot like a plan to talk about a lot to talk about.

And I very confident talking to the right person about this.

I want to know regarding the written statement that you sent out, this was Saturday criticizing President Trump's order of us strikes on Iran for not coming with a clear mandate from the American people.

> > From Congress or the UN support their.

How did you find out about the strikes and what was your reaction?

Kind of take me with wherever you were.

When you found out.

> > Sir.

So, you know, actually, it was about 6.30, Saturday morning making my coffee and just do my Just go And in terms of just the latest news flashes that were coming out of south, you know, turn the TV.

I mean, look, we've been tracking the concentration of U.S.

forces that has been going on for a good 6 to 8 again, it's really the largest photo Navy you know, in one place really going back to 1998.

Know include, you know, some of the records that we checked in.

And obviously that's Also complimented by the fact that we had, you know, huge air wings that have been position that U.S.

air bases all the Middle East as well.

So, you know, at some point you knew something had to give here.

The president in his State of the Union address, which I attended, you know, spend 3 minutes a ram.

I have a two-hour address and didn't say very much to be honest with you.

And so.

You know, definitely downloaded his video statement that he made at 1 o'clock in the morning down West Palm Beach.

Which again, really try to sort of weave together some justifications, but I didn't hear anything that struck me is an imminent threat exception to the War Powers Act.

He obviously doesn't have authority from Congress, as you said, and and frankly, it.

And it or you when, you know Al lies in terms of them being brought in.

Imminent threat is the buzz phrase that you used there and he's expressed concerns about Iran's nuclear program.

> > What can you publicly say about Congress and what they know about the Iranian regime that the U.S.

is trying to change now.

> > So, again, I mean, a lot of this is has been actually in the public domain for a long time.

I mean, obviously operation than a hammer back in June you know their nuclear sites in Iran, the 3 a major areas where they have the you know, technology that was enriching uranium.

It still was not weapons grade back in June.

But anyway, it got hit really hard.

I mean, that the 2 bombers, particularly that came into the Times.

I mean, you know, they had bunker bunker busting bombs, which are, you know, just staggering in terms of their explosive power of that's there.

So I mean, there are certainly truth to the fact Iran has trying to reconstruct at this point, some of their program.

That's there.

We don't have inspectors on the ground to really start to see neutrally what actually happening there.

But there is no indication.

That, you know, within a space of about 8 months that they've been able to reassemble their program even close to what it was back in 2025. in terms of missile technology, which is not nuclear temperature, nuclear arms.

They definitely have been very busy building building missiles as well as drones.

The Shaheed drones and that all over Ukraine.

And they've been actually in play over the last 72 hours in Iran as well.

And the other person, the Middle East.

So I mean, they have a sizable missile force.

There's no question about that.

But there was no indication that the U.S.

homeland was even close to being at risk in terms of those missiles.

And there was no actual missile firing that was going on player do over the last 2 or 3 months.

There are negotiations going on that the Omani government was brokering don't appear to make some fairly real tangible progress in terms of trying to shrink the size of France both its missile program and its nuclear program.

So, you know, it not surprising.

On the one hand because of the concentration of forces that the U.S.

and built up there.

But it was also surprising just because, yeah, there was nothing that actually triggered.

You know, our forces to go in there with really heavy air strikes and, you that's obviously the question of the day before Congress.

Your ranking member of the House E power and Projection Forces Subcommittee.

> > What's your assessment about our forces in the region and what's at stake?

> > So again, we've always had naval presence there.

The 5th Fleet is located in Bahrain of actually visit a couple times there.

There's roughly about 10,000 sailors there we have it.

Surface ships, you know, destroyers, littoral combat ships moving in and out of there all the time.

We have Coast Guard vessels that are there.

Some you know what, this may be surprised to hear that.

But in fact, the Straits of Hormuz, which is right adjacent about rain, you know, is actually, you know, the type body of water that the Coast Guard is very proficient in terms of patrolling.

yes, tracking what's what's going on out there.

So the Straits of Hormuz is a place where 20% of the worlds well, a natural gas every single day today.

As we're talking, it has been completely shut down because of the war.

And that's one of the reasons think, you know, well, prices the international oil prices now have jumped up to over $80 a barrel that you know, roughly about $60, on Friday after Friday evening before the strikes began.

So it's a place that, again, a U.S.

Navy has been very present, you know, over the years and obviously with the fact that we know of 2 aircraft carriers, the USS Abraham Lincoln, the USS Gerald Ford and the proximity of the region there, along with yeah, you know, shuttle and naval warships that are there and then bigger than normal numbers shows that, you know, this is very much a maritime able event that's going on Iran has a Navy.

It's roughly about 100 vessels.

There are a lot smaller.

Then.

You know, U.S.

Navy ships that are there.

But, you know, it doesn't take much to really gum up the works in the Straits of Hormuz and really, that's always been sort of a pinch point you know, Iran has always you know, posed as their way of trying to repel.

And, you know, strike and innovation and again, so far that's come into play.

I'm glad that you brought up the Abraham Lincoln and the Gerald R Ford.

Those carriers strike groups.

> > That have been deployed is all part of Operation Epic Fury, some checking out the chairman of the Joints Chiefs in at least whatever's been released publicly and kind of hearing about that.

You talked about gumming up the works in the Strait of Hormuz.

Is there any concern about vulnerability for this massive flotilla that's out there in the Persian Gulf at this time and in the area.

> > I mean, there is you know, they've been busy over the last couple of years already where, you know, the 2 T's in Yemen works are taking potshots Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

And they've had to protect themselves, you know, in terms of their sort of missile.

Technology that all the ships carry the ages systems as they're called.

So, you know, that's definitely very much something that I'm sure are.

Are Navy leadership is is tracking very closely.

But in terms of, you know, the Straits of Hormuz and the commercial traffic.

The minute there's a, you know, fighting that breaks out there.

All these oil tankers that bring all energy, you know, through the Straits of Hormuz every single day, they immediately canceled their insurance and commercial ships in that it's really the reason why those ships come to a screeching halt and have stopped moving you know, through the streets both backwards and, you know, in and out.

So it's that's really where the pinch point is in terms of just the world's energy markets and that spills into the world's financial markets.

Pinch point.

Very important, especially when we're thinking about that.

> > Strait of Hormuz and this you can't put toothpaste back in the tube.

You're so the strikes have happened.

The continuing.

What would you like to see the president do now?

> > Yeah.

So I mean, first of all, he he really has to come clear with a plan because, you know, there's been about 3 different iterations.

In terms of just, you know what his policy is here in terms of what he wants to see happen.

You know, again, I would love to see the House and the Senate exercise there.

No constitutional powers as a coequal branch of government by voting in favor of the war Powers Act.

The house is going to vote on Thursday.

The Senate is apparently beginning the voting process tonight on Tuesday night, rather than in terms of, you know, when they're going to be taking it up.

So, you know, that is a way of forcing the administration.

To either come to us and ask for an authorization for use of force or a declaration of war.

But in either case they've got a layout of real policy in a real plan in terms of what is that one of the goals here in terms of are we talking about, you know, again, trying to force them back to the negotiating table to 2, you concede even more on the nuclear program and missile programs is it to, you know, basically put a new government in place there, which I don't see how you can possibly do that with the the Iranian security forces that are still very dangerous and very powerful.

And and I certainly don't think the U.S.

has any stomach for putting boots on the ground for, you know, some type regime change.

We've seeing that moving far too many times in the Middle East and I think the president is probably is, you know, savvy enough to understand that that's really a red line.

You know, in terms of the American public.

So and again, I think that, you know, the international.

Karina is a place that we've got to start really getting people involved to try and bring this to the fighting to a stop, which is again, the Gulf State Arab countries who ran has been firing missiles at, you know, I think actually would be very helpful in terms of trying to get this that he turned down.

And as I said, the Omani government was trying to negotiate broker a deal between Iran and the U.S.

right until up until Friday of last week.

So there's avenues that we can pursue.

I mean, the United Nations Security Council met yesterday that's what it's there for, you know, is to, you have.

Countries come forward and train in a multilateral way rather than a unilateral way, try bring this to a halt because if it just keeps sort of festering.

I mean this that this is going to have real economic impact in terms you know, what's what we're seeing on Wall Street right now and it certainly got an economic in te pocketbooks with the cost energy.

Relevant, important testimony from the congressman and also very important strategic and tactical conversation here > > Something that I'm very happy that our listeners are learning about here.

Congressman Joe Courtney, thank you so much for coming on.

The wheel.

Thanks, Frank.

E. From Connecticut Public Radio.

This is the Wheelhouse.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

After the break, we're going to discuss recent student protests against federal law enforcement at schools in Connecticut.

What are teachers saying about the recent walkouts?

How are folks reacting to it?

You can tell us what you're saying about it.

He was a call.

8, 8, 7, 2, 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 7, 2, 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, There's more Wheelhouse next.

I Connecticut Public.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ This is the Wheelhouse from Connecticut Public Radio.

I'm Frankie Graziano students across America have joined adults in demonstrations protesting immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE and Connecticut teens have taken part.

Today.

We are going to be joined by an administrator at the one of the correct schools that we have here.

This is Gina Chase, assistant principal of the crack Academy of Aerospace and Engineering in Windsor students.

There have spoken out to administrators about the federal government's immigration policies.

Thank you so much for being here.

Gina, thank you for having me.

So glad to have you on.

And also joining us to provide contacts on federal education policy.

There she is.

And Murray, Tim and she covers local schools and governments and a senior youth and education reporter at Nhp Art.

Thank you for joining us via zoom and worry.

> > Good to be here.

Thanks having me.

> > Folks, what's your reaction to recent student ICE protests?

Students getting involved?

Are you seeing demonstrations in your community?

Join us on the air this morning by hitting us about her YouTube stream or by calling 88 720-9677, couple weeks ago.

Gina, we saw students at the classical magnet school in Hartford, staged their own protest.

We also had Francis t Maloney High School where there was a protest after a graduate and his father were arrested and detained by ICE.

Can you just help me understand kind of the temp the temperature in schools right now is we have this sort of culture of fear where students might be worried about their classmates.

> > Sure, I think that it's really important for us to promote student voice to listen to them and to give them a platform that is both safe and appropriate while also maintaining a robust educational environment where they can engage in civil discourse in a way that is positive and proactive.

Empowering.

> > Tell us more about ICE out day and I understand that you all gave students on their level of interest in the protests and how did they respond?

Sure.

So.

> > Students can to us actually.

you several weeks ago, there was kind of a movement happening we're student walkouts were were being planned.

And we're really grateful that our students came to us and share their thoughts and they really wanted to engage in some men in full form of protest in.

So in listening to that, we felt it was our responsibility to.

To hear them and 2, give them a means to express themselves in a way that was not disruptive to the educational environment, but also keeping them safe.

And so rather than allowing them to walk out just, you know, the outside in kind at will.

We worked with them to kind of create a walk in and so students were I effectively given permission to walk out of their classrooms.

We created space for them in some of our common spaces or auditoriums or cafeteria.

This was entirely student led and so students spoke.

They they held their own kind of internal protest.

Nobody was required to attend.

Students can stay in their classes if they chose to do so.

But those that wanted to have a voice and engage in that process where allowed to?

We put some parameters around this around when this could happen so that it would again not be disruptive to the educational environment with a day and they were entirely appropriate.

And the kind of exercise their rights.

> > When he tells about anything in particular, students were saying to you all about their desire and some of the things that they're maybe hearing and then kind of bringing to your door as you mentioned, we were talking before.

You always have people coming in and out of the office.

I would imagine.

So what kind of things we hear from the students right now?

> > Yeah, it's a busy place.

I think they they are wanting to be involved.

Your students Consumers of of media.

They're very plugged in and they are aware.

And they wanted to take part in something that aligned kind of with their values and what was meaningful and important to them.

And we felt it was our responsibility to kind of hear them and to do that in away that acknowledging of their desires and given them the tools to advocate for causes that are meaningful to > > And Murray earlier in the them.

winter, students started walking out of the classroom to protest ice.

As we mentioned, students with an inspired by what they saw on social media and more demonstrations took place in locales like Hartford here like Tampa, like Northern Virginia student protests with a widespread in New Hampshire where there are fewer.

There are a lot.

> > There were 2 big ones and then some smaller ones.

And it's interesting to see how can it can't respond.

It the schools and here in New Hampshire where a little bit different.

These were not sanctioned by the school's students face consequences if they went forward.

But their walkout and we saw in one school district.

I 20300 students walked from the school to our state house to have a very public display and a Nashua, more diverse student body, even more people came out.

And so very similar things they had been seeing.

The violence in Minneapolis play out on social media they are upset about that.

And in addition, especially in which is just a much more diverse student body students had very personal experiences with law enforcement either from their family or themselves because of the color of their And they felt one student said, you look a little Spanish, you have an accent and you are a target and many students expressed fear about very, you know, this being very close to them.

And one student in Concord, his family came here from Nepal and he said his family now carries their passport because they fear they could be stopped any time in addition, they're not sure the passports will be enough.

So students a very plugged in one criticism I heard from the public was this idea that the school had put students up to this store adult add, I think it really underestimates the students and students were upset about that.

Actually, this was completely student-led and those school districts put out a statement to say we're not mentioning this students will face consequences if they participate.

So it really, really was student led here.

> > You said that they face consequences.

What I want to ask about how administrators respond.

What do we know anything about what those consequences, war, where they generally supportive administrator is do we know or was a kind of a hard line?

> > I think school leaders are in a little bit of a difficult spot there's been a real effort in this state of lemonade.

What some think our dei diversity, equity initiatives.

And so schools are a little fearful of this right now.

And so they're in a difficult spot.

Think they want to support students, but they also want to not on the radar.

People who are trying to eradicate so-called dei and schools.

And so publicly school districts are pretty firm.

If you do this, you will face consequences for some students in one district that could be suspension and other districts.

Maybe they make up the class time.

And so students told you know, some people are being killed are raising their voice.

But, you know, up and protesting ICE action, Minneapolis, a suspension to me is not.

It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

So the consequences sort of I, you know, spanned from may be somewhat minor to suspension.

Students to tell me that they had conversations in their districts with their leadership of schools and said, you know, this is what we want to do.

And while the school didn't sanction it, schools did arrange to have safety personnel to march with the students so that our police officers and one district and, you know, police officers as well as staff and another so schools did not sanction this.

The not publicly say they supported it but didn't want to keep the students safe.

> > And Craig Magnet schools and the 3rd week of January students take Park in Racial Justice Action Week, which and this Connecticut Public reflect a core values of acting with courage in demanding equity.

We just talked about the program sort of being under attack from the federal government here.

What it says programming need to you and what we see from participating students each year I know you have more than just high school students at the aerospace and Engineering Academy.

Help us understand how we might have seen it at your school.

Sure.

> > I think the goal of racial justice actually cause Help Foster a more racially just world.

And we sort of investigate the ways in which race racial dynamics have shaped American history.

And society.

Both past and and so and in the younger grades that starts out by looking it and celebrating differences individuals.

When we have students who are older, the issues become a little bit more complex.

Of course, I think the the the route in the focus is what is the issue.

Why is that a problem?

How do we perceive it?

And then what can we do to fix it?

Until we see that in in a variety of different ways of thinking of in a number of different spaces whether it's through art or uplifting student voice or looking at again history and historical context and how that's contributing to our current socio political landscape.

> > Are the are the reactions to what you all are doing with that Guess whatever you're doing with your core values, are they generally positive or negative?

I think generally they are very positively received.

Certainly we a really diverse group of learners and families.

And many think that one of the things that makes us beautiful.

And I think generally we have positive reactions.

They're the rare occasion where like she was talking about it there where Andrew was talking about how.

> > People in the public might say that the teachers are putting the students up to it.

It does.

That happened then.

And if so, is that like from outside the community or does it ever happened inside the community?

> > I think those instances are rare.

I think they are the exception rather than the norm.

I certainly can't say that they don't happen.

You know, you're in.

It's almost impossible to please everybody all of the time as we know.

But generally, I think that the reaction is overwhelmingly positive.

> > Can you react to what we're hearing from Jena and Murray and in the fact that we this.

This culture at crack, which is really dedicated to racial justice initiatives here.

It might be a little different up there in New Hampshire.

I know their school districts that want to do this.

But what I'm trying to say is politically it might not be something that is very popular statewide.

> > This conversation is making me realize how different Hampshire is in this moment.

I think there's public support or diversity and equity.

In many ways there's confusion about what diversity and equity is.

No equity can be free school lunch program that ensures students who don't have enough money for lunch, get much.

It can be special.

Ed.

So winds to people start to understand what equity includes.

They're much more open to it.

Get.

But that's it's the leaders of our state, the Republican leadership of our state, who's very, you know, against dei and very loud about that.

And I have not seen schools say we agree.

I've seen schools say we're nervous and we can't risk our state or federal funding.

So we are going to protect our students, but then have a voice to the degree really trying to stay under the radar.

So a lot of support in schools for their students.

It's really coming from my leadership in the state House.

> > As we mentioned, Democrats have the majority in both the or excuse me.

We're talking about Republicans have the majority and in New Hampshire.

But in Connecticut, Democrats have the majority in both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly.

Ned Lamont, a Democrat, as you just mentioned, it's not that way in New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maine.

Among other England states are outspoken about the inclusion of transcend gender students in sports, by the gender to which they identify.

That's not necessarily the case in New Hampshire.

> > I we've had.

You know, was trying to outlaw students being treated in any way that they're categorized as a group.

But it's 10 bakes with try.

It's very hard to understand, but that means the most specific.

> > Action we have seen is.

> > Trying to outlaw federally > > You and with state actions I transitioned are students playing on a sports team that they identify with.

And we've had state allies try to stop that.

Our courts are federal courts have put a pause on that while it was a gated in court.

But there's been quite a bit of action around that.

And we've had students tell their story and say this is who I am.

I've been playing on the team identified with sense Elementary school, but they're just not sort of winning that argument at the Statehouse.

> > What's happened in New Hampshire?

I think we kind of alluded to this earlier regarding the administration's the federal ministrations stance and diversity equity inclusion programs.

It's reverberating throughout the country.

Isn't it?

> > I I think what's interesting here for me is at the state level, there's quite a bit of I would say just really loud opposition to dei.

We've seen the state tried to ban it in the course the Trump administration order back in January.

That said, if you don't stop your equity initiative, actions in your school, your lose your federal funding and 3 or so weeks later, our local chapter.

> > The ACLU sued on behalf of several school districts as well as civil rights groups and a teachers union and that case went to the courts and the outcome was not decided by a jury or the judge.

The Trump administration just said, okay, we'll back off.

We're not going to actually go through with that.

And in some ways it was a surprise.

But in some ways it was not because during the proceedings and that case, we saw the federal prosecutors who are here from Washington tried to defend the executive order, have to leave the hearing multiple times to say we don't know the answer to that question.

Judge will need to call Washington.

And so there was just to challenge, I defending that executive order.

And so when they decided to back up here on enforcing it.

That affected the whole country and so those efforts are can no longer be pursued.

And in school districts anywhere I will say that doesn't mean school districts are still afraid of what could happen.

There is a chilling effect that continues regardless of what happens in court.

> > And that's what my next question was going to be to you.

Does that mean the children still get to learn about racism in school?

> > They do.

And school districts will say we never that teaching about racism.

But they're still nervous about how to talk about this because while that federal executive order has been.

> > You set aside, there are 2 state laws in New Hampshire that are being litigated in court now.

So very much limit what schools could say in terms of race.

But the laws are so vague and the courts have, you know, pause these laws because they're so big.

And so we don't even know.

Well, we're not allowed to do.

And so that puts in this position of being afraid to do anything.

And so the very much struggling with what they think is right.

But also trying to stay on that this side of the state lives.

> > In what other ways are school children impacted in your state by what's happening with the administration?

> > I think primarily ban this ice activity because that has played out on social media, which is where they're tuning in.

I'm not sure the reading the New York Times or even an HP aren't seeing kind of the wider debate over diversity and equity.

But what they saw in terms of attacking and their minds, people of.

Kolr in Minneapolis has really registered with them.

And they're just they're angry about it.

They're scared about it.

They don't understand it.

And they feel like even though their way up here in New Hampshire say we have to we have to speak out.

We can't be silent on this.

So that's what I've seen the most activity regarding any kind of diversity and equity kind of action.

> > Jeanne, is there anything that you saying that sort of resonating with that's the student's care a lot about whether it's dei or its worried about other students and ice.

Is there anything that you just said in last or at least the fight that they're having?

That is something that you all are doing even as administrator.

> > Yeah, I'm I'm actually kind of uniquely familiar with the fight.

I was in New prior to coming to Connecticut about 4 and a half years ago.

So I know the landscape well and what she's describing It resonates with me because I recall being in that position and I do.

I think that it is important to know that our students are hearing and seeing and they have real thoughts and feelings about whats going on in the world.

they're choosing to exercise.

They're they're right.

We know that students don't shed their rights when they walk into school and so we feel and that's actually federal audit is indeed.

And so we feel.

> > You know, we are well positioned to help support our students.

And we are not facing the same kinds of pressures that they are in New Hampshire.

And so it is it a little bit of a different landscape here for sure where you would least heart.

And then when you heard about the ACLU lawsuit there, least the fact > > they were able to maybe stand up to the Trump administration for a day there.

> > I yes.

And as much as I feel as though you know, in my in my current role.

I I clear my personal values.

It is important for me to focus on my students and what it is that they need in the moment.

> > Any particular programming happening at crack soon, similar to racial Justice Action Week or at least something that we should be paying attention to that sort of showcases what the students have learned here and their core values.

Sure.

> > we certainly have lots of opportunities for students to.

Advocate for causes.

They believe in an exercise their voice.

But one of in upcoming event that we have on March 19th at Parkville Market in Hartford.

We have our crack student art showcase where students across the district in grades, Pre-K and kindergarten all the way up to grade 12 have their art on display for the public.

And it's a really, really beautiful events that encourage anybody to come down and check that out.

Even listening to Gene, a Chase assistant principal at the high school at the Academy of Aerospace.

> > And Engineering in Windsor.

Thank you so much for coming on Jena much for having me.

It was terrific.

And folks, students out there hear me.

If you want to learn about journalism.

Yes, you can listen to The New York Times.

You can also listen, Nhp are particularly if you're in New Hampshire and you will follow Andrew Timmins is reporting and nhp art out of work senior you than education reporter.

Thank you so much for joining the conversation today.

> > You're welcome.

Those great to be here.

> > Sometimes it's good to cheat.

Were in the local classrooms at the University Connecticut.

We have them look at The New York Times and the Sun in Connecticut Public Radio.

So they've got to get in the classroom over there.

Make sure they listen to both Henry thank you so much and re.

Coming up next, protest isn't the only form of civic engagement hear how students in Avon are learning about local government and policy.

Listen in the Wheelhouse.

Connecticut Public.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ This is the Wheelhouse from Connecticut Public Radio.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

We've heard from a Connecticut administrator and a reporter about recent school walkouts protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE.

But protests aren't the only ways kids are getting involved.

Chris Doyle teaches students at Avon Old Farms other aspects of civic engagement in his government in crisis class.

Chris, thank you for hopping on the phone with us this morning.

> > Thanks for having me on the show for it.

> > Always love talking to you a lot of talking about this.

Folks can join us over the phone.

If they'd like to 888-720-9677.

If you have any questions about civic engagement or anything we talked about earlier, give us a call.

8, 8, 7, to 0, 9, 6, 7, 7, It will try to help you out.

This is a sort of like going along with a question.

I had planned to change it up a little bit because of what I just heard from Jena Chase.

There.

She said something that actually we talked about in a pre interview together.

She said that when you walk into a school shed your rights, if your students, if you tell me a little bit about what that means to you.

> > Well, that's correct.

And that that actually comes from a Supreme Court case called can curb the Des Moines it dates back to the 1960's when students protested the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to class and they were sanctioned for that by school administrators and state ended up in the Supreme Court and the justices decided that that was a legitimate expression of their political speech and that they didn't lose all those rates just because they were school student.

> > And and I would I would certainly concur with that.

> > Protests is one form of civic engagement, youth civic engagement.

Can you just help us out, Chris, with what other forms are?

> > In my my government class.

I wanted the students to see how government actually works, especially state and local governments.

So we had our state rep Lenny cover us to Come in.

We had our state Senator Paul Honey, come in.

They talked about what they do in Hartford and how much power and responsibility that out in state government.

We visited Connecticut Superior Court in Torrington.

We went to garner Correctional Institute in New Town.

We served a meal at a homeless shelter in Hartford and in the care shelter.

And we also visited our local police department and the students are riding along with the Avon PD in small shifts.

> > Yeah.

Now it almost seems like you're bragging.

That's a tremendous all the work you are doing.

Are you all are civics titans over there Avon Old Farms.

And it's not like it's only at Avon Old Farms.

You've worked at other places before.

So your students have been able to do this for a long time.

Why is it important for the students to see government action and just use some of those examples that you have there and some of the experiences that they've had.

> > Well, you know, first of all, I think government democracy generally right now.

Gets a very bad The the idea that many people have is that government is completely dysfunctional.

It's all driven by corrupt corporate interest.

And I don't want to deny that some of that is a real problem.

But, you know, often government works and it works dealing with really, really difficult My students only went to court in turning 10.

They got to talk with prosecutors.

They got to talk with public defenders.

They got to meet with the judge.

And they were all convinced that the system was actually dispensing justice in a very fair and often compassionate way.

And when we went to garner correctional, they met 5 inmates who are doing really long prison sentences for murder and accessory to murder.

And they're in a special rehab program.

But these guys, one of them has been in jail for 29 years already and on.

No, these are people whose lives have gotten really, really badly.

They've done terrible things.

But they're trying rehabilitate themselves.

And and the corrections officers serve are doing a really difficult job.

But they're in there pitching to they're giving it their best every day and you know, the students were really sobered by It's, you know, you're seeing life at its worst.

And you're seeing a government institution trying to turn to mediate that and and improve things.

And sometimes it works.

And I think that's what my students came away with was that maybe things aren't as completely dysfunctional the media would have them believe.

> > What are some takeaways that they're sharing with the besides you talked about some people that have visited your class like the lawmakers, including Paul Hone again, Laney Kabel covers the draw.

Any other kind of speakers you could think of that have come.

And in there and sort of had an impact on the students.

> > Yeah, we have we have a faculty member who's in my department whose Afghan war that and he spoke about why he joined the military you know what it was like to serve in Afghanistan, how he feels about that experience.

Now.

Our associate head of school is a former law enforcement officer.

And he came in and talked about both the satisfaction of his career in law enforcement and also.

The toughest day he ever had on the job.

That was very moving.

I got choked up.

He talked about trying to console a mother whose child just been killed in a hit and run accident.

My wife came in.

She was in the ER doctor during COVID at Saint Francis Hospital.

And she talked about.

What she felt as kind of a medical in a civic obligation to go into work when people didn't really know very much about COVID except that it was it was making a lot of people us.

You know, again, I think when you get down to the individual human level, you hear all these stories and collectively they that.

All of these people felt called in a certain way.

To see beyond themselves and to give of themselves for the greater good.

And I was impressed with that.

They were too.

> > That is remarkable.

And thank your wife for her service.

By the way, but it's remarkable because you're really learning if your student, at least my takeaway would be.

And I don't know if I would have thought this in hindsight.

20 years ago when I was in school and I was a lot less mature than I am now.

But the takeaway might be there that everything is political right?

Because as much as we don't like politics, there is a lot of intersection because when Ur an ER doctor and things are happening and COVID, there's rhetoric that could impact the way people look at your job rhetoric that in can impact your job because people may not wear masks and Michael May because of politics.

They may not be able to sort of bend the curve there's not this mask-wearing people may not want to wear it.

You might also may need politicians to help you access PPE.

So are you kind of in some way also saying that this is part of local government.

How doctors interface with their students is also something that or excuse me with their patients is also something that is sort of political in nature that involves government > > My wife made that point there.

very explicitly and she talked about science denial and how painful that is.

As a physician to have to deal with that.

And in a sense like they're those kind of those kind of expressions are our best said by somebody who's actually a doctor or somebody who's actually in the field and makes my job a lot easier.

I don't have to.

Say anything when I got an ER doctor in the room saying it, you know, to my students you know, we started our class kind of dealing with this right away.

I had the students some pretty ancient sources.

Both in favor of democracy.

That was para, please.

And also against it.

That was a platonic dialogue.

We're Socrates says, you know, look, ordinary people are just not capable of governing themselves.

Still.

Listen to people who want to tell them what what they want to hear and that you'll end up in a corrupt authoritarian state.

So, you know, this kind of argument about the pros and cons democracy have been going on for a long, long time.

You know, para Klee said, look, you know, people in Afton state, they buy into the locked his knee, make the law.

And you know that that's the argument in favor of it.

You know, so I hope my students come away with this idea that citizenship has to be active all the time.

Citizens are asleep at the switch or they're being fed misinformation it's not going to work very well.

> > You have any success stories about students, anybody that has sort of got involved with local government or some kind of intersecting career that involves something that they've learned in your classroom or even spoken to come back and spoken to the class any kind of success stories in that regard.

> > Well, those are kind of the things the future is live for.

You especially through tree and government not.

I had to students in the last few years who reached out to one of them is has just finished up at the Naval Academy and I had lent him a memoir of a guy who was so West Point grad and went on a Rhodes scholarship at Oxford.

And this guy had gotten kind of the equivalent of that scholarship and he'll be studying in Madrid next year.

And he told me that my class made a difference and > > another student ended up majoring in government.

> > Rather than business because of a N a P goes class.

The took with me.

And she reached out and told me that he's at Harvard Law School.

So, you know, like that's music to my ears and > > I'm sure that's the those eyes.

are the e-mails all save.

Want to retire and read over and retirement?

Yeah.

That that's nice.

When that > > I'd like more of those to happens.

pour in because it is very important for kids to learn about.

Civics is kind of what we're getting engaged in here on the Wheelhouse lately, having a lot of these conversations, but we can't do it without people like Chris Torello history teacher at Avon Old Farms.

Thank you for your work.

Its of you all are talking to a lot of different people visiting different places.

This is something that is built over 40 years of work.

Chris.

> > Thank you.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

> > Today show is produced by tally Ricketson.

It was edited by Patrick Scale.

Our technical producer is doing race.

Thank you so much to Megan Boone, for all of her work.

Bradley O'Connor and Sam Hockaday, thank you so much.

Tess terrible.

Megan Fitzgerald, Connecticut Public's, visuals team in our operations team.

Download the Wheelhouse anytime on your favorite podcast app.

I'm Frankie Graziano.

This is the Wheelhouse.

Thank you for listening.

♪ ♪ > > And then when?

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