Stephanie Neales Nichols ’09/’14 interviewed by NPR about the Lewiston shooting

When tragedy like the Lewiston Mass Shooting strikes, how do we explain it to children? Recently, Maine Public Radio (NPR) interviewed second grade teacher and double alumna Stephanie Neales Nichols ’09/’14 MSEd about how teachers help students understand news like this.

Stephanie, who teaches at Narragansett Elementary School in Gorham, said after the tragedy she knew her students had to talk about it. According to the NPR article, each day Stephanie and her students gather around a table to eat breakfast and start their day. She says as the kids unpack their knapsacks and settle into the classroom, she likes to listen more than she speaks. In the last few weeks the conversation was about the mass shooting in Lewiston.

“I think people sometimes really underestimate kids of this age level,” she says. “My kids had all these things they heard on the news. They’re still exposed to it. And they have lots of questions.” One student in her class asked a big one: “Why? Why did the shooter do this?”

⇒ Read: Like it or not: Kids hear the news. Here’s how teachers help them understand it

Stephanie received her undergraduate degree in 2009 in History with a minor in Secondary Education and her graduate Master of Science in Education, School Educator degree in 2014. She is part of the Maine Council for Social Studies and represents Maine at the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS). In December, she’ll attend the 103rd NCSS Annual Conference in Nashville, TN!