As I have been rereading On Austrian Soil, I actually dove back into my initial responses on the discussion forum from 2020. It is funny to look back at where my head was at as we were all staying home and isolating and how my thoughts have both stayed the same and changed since then.
One thing that I noticed and something that stood out to me this time around as well, is this idea of what should and can be discussed in the classroom. I think of the bravery (because that is what it is) of the educators that Sondra worked with to openly discuss history that was difficult and build relationships and open dialogue in spite of the past. I got stuck again on the line from Martina where she talked about being morally neutral and then how the educators push back against that in their actions. I feel even stronger now than I did in 2020 about giving students opportunities to talk about hard things. This has become increasingly harder in NH, as we have our divisive concepts law that has made people feel that they have to be neutral in all that they teach and discuss.
I think my biggest takeaway from Sondra’s story is really the idea of brave and honest teaching and the importance of that. We want our students to be brave and honest. We want them to take risks and discuss hard truths. We want them to find the truth in our world. In order to do this, we need to model this in our own classrooms and offices. What does it look like to put yourself in a position where the result could go badly? What does a safe environment look like? These are the questions that Sondra brings to my mind and reaffirms the importance of creating a safe space where students can be brave.
Erica Kaufman 
Gatsinzi Basaninyenzi 
lthompson 
SueFletcher 
Klaudia Neufeld 
Lori Menning