With courses taught throughout the early and late stages of education, some teachers do not necessarily have to worry too much about what they say in regard to the consequence of implications. However, many Social Studies courses typically involve topics in History that bring up many current arguments and discussions that are brought up in a political or economical sense. For those of us who may be going into this field, it is really helpful to have a grasp on how to handle these sorts of situations before they come up! One of the main targets that need to be embraced before even considering possible methods would be that students should feel as though they can feel involved in conversing about issues in general. Depending on where a person teaches the subject matter may be limited or absent, but still having a welcoming and open area for analysis can make or break a classroom’s effect of being able to appear considerate.
A few different methods that have been created to help all kinds of teachers to retain a sense of order in the classroom while handling potentially disruptive topics range from observing: denial, privilege, avoidance, and balance. By general concept, these four areas discuss how teachers can best decide how to go about explaining topics without influencing their own opinions onto the students. As the experienced writer, Diana Hess explains, “…I don’t want kids to agree with my views just because I am the teacher.” Teachers hold the responsibility of providing knowledge and information to students, but truly only the best let their students take that expertise and apply it to their already-made experiences and thoughts.
One broad statement that I have heard from many individuals belonging to the groups ‘Millenial’ and ‘Baby Boomer’ is that young teens are not smart and should not have any say in major debates and arguments in regard to politics. While the commonly held belief of wisdom being earned with age tends to hold some truth, younger generations acquire newer perspectives and helpful feedback on methods that have been set in stone for years. As a future teacher, I look forward to hearing from my students about how they have seen certain social cues, laws, and orders change within their time!
I completely agree with one of the main targets needing to be embraced is making sure students feel like they can be involved in talking about issues in general. I think it is extremely important that students feel comfortable in the classroom and feel respected by their peers when discussing hard topics because every student is allowed to have their own opinion so they should be able to speak that freely. The quote you included by Diana E. Hess was one that stuck out to me as well. I do not find it necessary for students to know my beliefs because I am not trying to enforce that on them. They should make their own opinions based off of the information they learn in class as well as on their own.
Great insight, the quote you used from Hess was one that stuck out to me as well. I believe that critical thought is a vital skill that students need within their social studies classes. I, as a teacher, do not just want to indoctrinate my students, but teach them how to look at different sides, and choose on their own. This can be a tricky task, but I think that reading Hess’s article will help me in the future with this.
I 100% agree with you regarding the idea that way too many people believe that teens aren’t smart enough to talk about politics. I feel that is a very flawed perspective to have. If anything teens nowadays are likely much more familiar with politics than the older generations were when they were in their teenage years. I think it is great that you want to be able to what students have to say regarding heavier topics.
A history classroom is a good spot for students to express their political opinions. We should always let the students have a say in politics in a history classroom. There is no point in babying our future students and “protecting” them from the world.
Being able to hold a meaningful conversation is very important in a social studies classroom. I also look forward to holding these conversations with my students and being able to hear an opinion that is different than mine, while potentially it is also a perspective that I maybe had never considered before.