How Do We Talk About Issues that Matter?
I would first ask you what do you think are the issues that matter? There needs to be a foundation of what is important to discuss in your classroom as a teacher. From there we have to remind ourselves that the environment of a classroom is to educate. This will remain the same and remain the priority always. Instead of using this as a hindrance to important conversations, we can use this to bring light on the issues that can be clarified and addressed through curriculum content. Race in education, for example, this can be a tense topic amongst students but can actually be handled with care when creating lesson plans surrounding misconceptions of different races. This can be inclusive, educational, and yet properly discussed in the classroom. There are boundaries in a classroom and these boundaries are necessary. We as teachers set these boundaries and these can be a testament to these issues that need to be discussed. What would happen if you locked down boundaries and classroom content that was comfortable but also educational and honest? This would break down walls of fearfulness, isolation, and insecurities within your students. I think these two things need proper planning behind them in order to succeed but this is worth the time and worth the intentionality. Intentionality, that is what we need to bring to the table when talking about issues that really do matter. I don’t think this is as easy as it may sound but it is most definitely achievable and important for every single one of your students. School is where they learn, so we must teach them the things that matter.
Hi Avery! I really like how you mentioned that as teaches we can create lesson plans around such issues not only to educate students on topics, but help them understand other peoples points of view and how students could discuss these topics in a calm and respectful manner. I agree with you about how teachers pave the way to start the change of the way this generations issues are talked about! Boundaries are a good way to bring ideas to the table like you said. A lot of students are uncomfortable with the way they discuss their opinion and share ideas from fear of someone disagreeing or getting into trouble and that is not a good way to live. We are all human beings and we should all be respectful to others about their opinions and we should all feel welcome to share something we are passionate about instead of holding back.
ReplyDeleteHi Avery! I really love how your touched on race in education, when we discuss race and ethnicity in the schools I've always noticed some people shift in their chairs or clear their throat out of awkwardness. If we as teachers change the approach we take I think we can make it more appealing and more comfortable for students of all backgrounds, but we as teachers also have to address the lesson plan with ourselves because maybe its awkward for us and we can't really have that awkward bias in the classroom.
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