One year ago Thursday, there was a moment in U.S. history that the entire world witnessed.

Yet, in today’s political climate, it can be tough for teachers to touch polarizing topics like the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that took place on Jan. 6, 2021.

“January 6th is a very difficult topic for teachers to teach about,” said Dr. Steve Masyada, who directs University of Central Florida's Lou Frey Institute. “Unfortunately, not all teachers, including civics teachers, feel comfortable teaching current events.”

The institute, located within the UCF Research Park as part of the College of Sciences’ School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, readies resources for K-12 teachers across the state of Florida.

And for Jan. 6 lessons, Masyada’s team advised educators to draw upon history, covering relevant topics such as sedition, impeachment and the 25th Amendment.

“One of the things we actually try to provide teachers, whether it’s January 6th or for impeachment, whether it’s for a congressional election, we try to provide them with resources to teach without getting fired,” he said.

That hesitation to teach about touchy topics comes up often in the institute’s educator workshops, and as a former social studies content specialist for a Central Florida school district, Kimberly Garton has heard the worries, too.

“Oftentimes with current events, especially today, it’s tough to even agree on facts,” she said, adding that one of the constraints is the controversy surrounding some current events.

The second major constraint for educators is the time to teach — adding context while meeting benchmarks set by the state.

“I’d say, on average, a teacher has about 45 minutes of class time with students — take that down to 40 minutes for actual instruction," Garton said. "They face a set of scripted standards and benchmarks for the state they have to teach."

Garton echoed Masyada’s advice, saying that the more lessons can be tied to relevant history — while staying free from bias — the better.

“It’s just important to keep reminding students there’s always sides and other perspectives, whether it’s a current event or something that happened 100 years ago," she said. "It’s always good to look at it from opposite angles."

Masayda, a former civics instructor himself, said that ignoring current events also sends a strong message to inquiring students: They don’t matter.

“I can’t imagine a single social studies or civics teacher in the 1970s who would’ve ignored Richard Nixon and his resignation, and Watergate and everything connected to it," he said. "We have a responsibility as civics teachers to keep our opinions out of it — we’re also telling them a story when we refuse to talk about current events explicitly.

"As long as we’re keeping our opinions out, focusing on the facts and history, that’s what matters.”

The team said that they’ll likely work on more Jan. 6 resources for K-12 teachers, but plan to wait for the U.S. House Select Committee’s promised report.

The Lou Frey Institute was just awarded a $1.5 million grant from the state of Florida to prepare teachers for benchmarks that are coming, two years down the road.

Masyada added that the institute is developing resources in tandem for the Florida Bar’s adult civic education program.