How do we talk about issues that matter?
I think talking about controversial issues in the classroom is an important thing to do and include in the classroom as a teacher. After reading this week's materials and watching the videos I have a better understanding of why we need to teach our students to participate in emotional, deep conversations. I believe we can do this by facilitating conversations between students and asking them broad open-ended questions that can lead them to have respectful conversations. I also believe we can do this by reminding our students that everyone has their own opinion and that it is completely OK to have an opinion different than their classmates, but we as teachers also need to remind the students that it is not OK to bully or put others down for having a different opinion than their own. I think that doing this before having these conversations in the classroom will set students up for success and allow them to be kind and respectful towards their classmates.
Another way I think we can talk about issues that matter is by having students participate in the fishbowl discussion approach. I chose to watch the video from “Facing History and Ourselves” where the students in the classroom were having a discussion about race and they did it in a fishbowl approach. The teacher in the fishbowl was just listening and making sure the students were being respectful and participating. I really liked this strategy because I have never seen it done before and it seemed like all the students really enjoyed it and were able to have a meaningful and respectful converstaion. The fishbowl conversation could be a great strategy in talking about issues that matter.
Hello Zoe, thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions on your Golden Lines with us. I agree with your thoughts on facilitating student conversations. I think it is really important for students to have real conversations with one another. Students can always benefit from learning with or from their peers. I also think it is important for students to explore with the dynamics of their conversations. Students are always asked to respond to simple questions. What would happen If students were asked to engage in though-provoking conversations? I think students would be able to dig deeper into how they feel when expressing themselves. Conversations that raise real questions may provoke real answers. Students should be asked to respond to the real world and the things around them. Students should be allowed to bring their experience and thoughts into the classroom. As long as students know how to respect one another’s feelings, these conversations can be benefitting to them.
ReplyDeleteHey Zoe, I love how you started your first sentence with going off into the classroom about controversial topics in the classroom. I feel like so many teachers avoid this topic in the classroom setting because they do not want to speak up. Students in elementary school are so underestimated about how smart they are and all the knowledge and ideas they have stored in their heads. I think being able to teach our students to having respect for other people's opinions is huge. Lots of children nowadays you never know their background and what they are used to and how they respond to different conversations but always reminding them to respect each other and have empathy for other's people's beliefs and opinions. I also really enjoyed learning about the fishbowl because I had never heard about this before either and was so intrigued. This is something I also want to use in my classroom so each of my students can have the opportunity to express their emotions.
ReplyDelete