I’m wondering about teaching. Specifically about teaching history. I’m picturing a scenario where I’m in the classroom discussing slavery and little Johnny raises his hand then says in all honesty, “I don’t see the big deal. Why is slavery so bad? People were given a job, they got a place to sleep, and food. Slavery seems pretty good to me.”My first reaction would be to say, “Wait a minute Johnny you can’t think like that. Slavery is BAD because it puts one set of people over another set of people.” But I’m not sure that is the right thing to do. Would it be more constructive to use his statement as a tool? Let the class discuss the pros and cons to slavery. Naturally I would hope that there would be a healthy environment where the class could do this respectfully. Would that be a more meaningful activity, letting the students discover the idea of slavery through dialogue? This could then be followed up with authentic research by the students and more class discussion.
I think that it is great you are already thinking ahead to challenges that teachers face in the classroom. I think that there will be many times we are going to have to discuss difficult subjects, and to keep out our own opinion on them is going to be hard to do. I think that student lead class discussions are key in students learning and development on their own experience and ideas. We have to remember that that our opinions are just that, but with a topic such as slavery I don't think it would be out of place to say that it was wrong and then describe the reasons why.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher it is your responsibility to give all the facts to the students. One thing to keep in mind is that as teachers we will be able to direct class discussions and the topics you allow students to discuss in class. You have to keep in mind the grade you are teaching and the level of the class. In a first grade classroom I don't think a class discussion on slavery wouldn't be as beneficial to the students as in a Jr High classroom. The first grade class may not know enough out the topic to be able to hold a productive class discussion.
You know I never really thought about difficult questions in the classroom. That kind of scares me. We are prepared to answer questions directly related to the lesson, but what happens when we are presented with an off the wall comment like Jason mentioned. We, as teachers, are not always prepared for such questions and comments. What worries me is possibly responding incorrectly. I know it will happen, as we all make mistakes, but I still worry and wonder if, when the time comes, I will be able to respond in the correct way.
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