Learning to Discuss Hot Button Topics—or Not (online reflection #3)

As a “preservice” (read: inexperienced) teacher, I often am unaware of the pitfalls of certain lesson plans, sometimes even as they are happening. Last week was one of those times when I had to debrief with my MT to fully realize how tricky a situation had become. The unit we are working in is all about “Conflict,” and as such we were doing a Civil Rights history-based week led by our first-year co-teacher. The students were analyzing pictures they had passed around on posters and writing what they thought was happening, if it was more conflict or resolution, and similar other breakdowns. The pictures ranged from Rosa Parks and the Freedom Riders all the way to the L.A. Riots of the early 2000s and Ferguson Missouri. At the end, each group was supposed to come up and present what their poster was actually about, and then the kids could discuss or ask questions about them.

In my head I thought it was a pretty good idea, giving them a chance to discuss in a safe classroom environment creates healthy kids who are awakened to ignorance they previously were unaware of. However, what happened was a stark division of the class, escalating to raised voices and extremes on both sides of violent protests being shared, and a bell ringing on a class scattered and confused, with very little teacher intervention to guide them through topics that often get adults confused or heated. Luckily for the most upset student, my MT walked him to his next class and got a chance to debrief and discuss his thoughts and questions with her, but I was still processing. Why did my MT seem so upset at the outcome of the class when it was only a heated discussion? College classes got fired up and people disagreed all the time, and that seems to be okay. After a good talk with my MT, however, I began to realize some of the pitfalls of our period and started thinking of ways it could have gone differently.

What I hadn’t understood at the time was that for these kids, a heated discussion isn’t coming from a well-thought out idea with a sturdy conviction fueling the passion behind it. It is coming from a scared early teenager who is just beginning to see the possibility of an opinion outside of their parents, and a lot of pride and hot air backing that paper-thin ideology up. When they had free reign to counter and shut down each other’s opinions, their defensiveness started flaring up and it went from a productive academic discussion to something that could’ve potentially been damaging to both their ideas and their friendships. So what would’ve worked better, or how did my teachers adjust from first to third hour?

Well the first thing would have been to realize going in that this could become a hot button conversation, so we could have been more prepared. An article put out by Vanderbilt University gives some excellent guidelines for having difficult classroom dialogues that accomplish good goals and keep the class from spiraling out of control. One of the things they mentioned is to have thought through whatever the topic is and what the problems may be ahead of time. In this case it was race and violent protests versus police brutality, but it could just as easily have been something along religious lines, immigration or other political policies, elections, civil liberties, or something you aren’t always expecting that a student has a sensitivity toward. Although you will never be able to predict every difficult topic that will come up in your class, you can be proactive about broaching these topics when you feel you and your class are at a place where you can handle them.

Another of the articles good ideas is for you and your students to establish clear ground rules before starting a discussion, so they know what kind of behavior and discourse is tolerated or expected. Again this takes some foresight, but allowing students to be in the process of coming up with rules such as no shouting over each other, or no attacking the speaker’s character directly can cut down on you having to moderate as much, because they have all agreed to uphold their own rules.

In addition, the article gives different strategies and specific practices you can employ if you would like a more structured discussion. All in all, I think you have to know your kids first and foremost. As we were discussing our talk in the next hour, we came to the conclusion that this age of students were not mature enough to be able to cope with the topic presented without extensive coaching, and many of their situations and demographics made it hard for them to be mature enough to handle it regardless of how skilled the teacher was. In some instances, it is okay to know your limits and not attempt anything you think would do more harm than good to your students, and I think that is hard for me to learn. I want to be able to tackle every kind of lesson, the most cutting edge and important on the social justice scale, filled with meaningful audiences and real-world applications, each and every time. But sometimes, knowing when to reach and when to pull back a bit is a sign of wisdom, and can teach your kids more than a lesson ever could.