Debate Difficult Topics, But Be Smart About It
When it teach students about Human Sexuality and Development to students, I acknowledge one thing up front. We will discuss science based content about human development sexuality. That is always my starting point and I write my curriculum based on that.
The next point I address is that we will also discuss issues that are not based on science. We will discuss issues that are moral and value based. We will discuss issues that we don’t have as concrete an answer for and we will not all agree on. But, the requirement is that all students respect the content and discuss it in the classroom. This content, I may write down as part of the curriculum but not all of it.
Finally, I address that we will have questions. At least, I hope the students feel comfortable enough in the topic of human sexuality to ask questions. I do use a questions box, but I also allow students to ask clarifying questions during class if they are comfortable. This is the wild card part of my content. I don’t write this down, unless they are the common questions that students ask year to year. I don’t know what students want to know or is important to them that year until we start the unit.
When asked questions, I respond in a couple of ways. First, if I am responding, I tell the students whether it is a science-based question or a morals/values question. Alternately, I talk about the science-based portion and separate it from the morals/values portion. That way they are distinctly different. Then, I answer the science piece first with factual information. Finally, I answer the morals/values portion and identify different viewpoints. This clearly separates what is fact and what is opinion.
For example. A common question is “When is the right time for teenager to have sex?” Yes, that is a common question. I first answer how we are defining “sex”. This is not as straight forward as you might think, but I discuss the varying definitions of sexual activity. That is factual information and just describing what it is. Then, we discuss the morals and values portion of it. When is it the right time for someone to engage in sexual activity? There is no right answer to this question, and we discuss why someone might choose to engage or not engage in sexual activity. It has to do with what you believe, not with what sexual activity is.
This question, I would have in my curriculum because it is such a frequent question. I would write it down and my general response. When a principal reviewed the content, they might ask about this and question it, based on their own values and morals, but it is a common question, and I can adequately defend my answer. I have had to do this with some adults who had a strong moral belief in one direction. But, I teach all students and I must account for all choices, beliefs, and values, not just what one group of parents or adults believe.
That is the rub though isn’t it. We teach all students in our classroom. We have a wide range of values and beliefs about the world in front of us and, as educators, we must teach to that group. We even have our own personal beliefs about what values and morals should be taught, but that may not align with the students in front of us. Teaching sexuality education is a great way to think hard about what you teach and what you believe about sexual activity. It is just one example of ways we as educators much push pause on some of our beliefs when we enter the classroom.
We do not enter our teaching space devoid of values and beliefs about the world around us. We have a very firmly rooted values system in place as humans. We have stronger beliefs about certain issues than others. It is what makes us human.
Culturally Responsive Teaching, Climate Change, Black Lives Matter, Gender Equality, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, whether schools should wear masks and people should get vaccines, and who should be president. These and others are beliefs we hold onto strongly. We have beliefs about issues that are near and dear to us for very personal reasons. No one will ever take that away from you.
However, the moment you walk into the classroom, you teach a wide variety of students who may agree, or disagree with you based on their upbringing, background, family, and community. We must respect that and educate our students. And yes, we can discuss very difficult issues in our space if we have established a climate of trust and mutual respect. Then, we must also teach how to debate content and not attack people. When we reach that point, we can engage in challenging topics with less resistance and friction in our space.
If you are going to take on a difficult topic, know the long-term effects. This is the “will my face look good on the front page of the paper as a headline” question. Always know your audience, the school community, and the winds of change. Not every topic can be as easily discussed within the community. Regardless of your personal belief, your community may lash back at you and it could cost you your job. That is just the harsh reality of todays climate.
Teach science and facts and cite your sources. If you are tackling difficult topics, do your research. Do not do one side of the research, cite both sides. That is just good research practice. You can dispel one side but do your research. When questions are asked, identify the facts. Say it specifically in class. “This is what the research says…”. Show it to the students. Allow them to challenge it, with other research. On this point, just share the facts and discuss what the facts say. When challenged, ask for other evidence to support the challenge. A note, hopefully you have also discussed what quality research and evidence are at this point.
Identify beliefs, values, and morals. Separate personal beliefs, family or community values and morals from the science and facts as much as possible. There needs to be a clear distinction between what is fact and what we believe. This is hard, but again, support this with research and evidence. Students, and adults, need to understand it is okay to have a value or belief, but that others may have a different set. This is where the discussion can get tricky. I have heard intelligent adults scream at others about personal beliefs that they hold to strongly. This is what we want to avoid and where experience and knowledge of conflict resolution comes in handy.
Teach how to argue and debate. We need to teach our students how to debate a topic. Issues arise more often when a person feels attacked than when the material is attacked. This is key. We must teach our students to discuss content rather than attack people. The more we use language that directs our argument at the person, the more likely they are to feel attacked. This is where we can bring in evidence and point to it as part of the debate. We can also ask clarifying questions such as “Where is the evidence to support this?”. The more we can go to a third point of evidence, the less a person will feel attacked. As well as a myriad of other debate skills that we must teach and set ground rules for if we are going to do this.
Be cautious about sharing your own personal beliefs. I was asked once in a contentious election who I was going to vote for. I told the students I would only share after the election because my vote was my choice. I did share afterwards as I said I would and explained why I made my choice. It was not a popular choice which, had I shared before the election, might have caused issues. We must be careful in when and how we share our beliefs. If students ask, we have more of a free reign in sharing. If we just tell students, we can get in trouble because people believe we are dictating a position or indoctrinating students. If you have a belief, and you share when asked as well as provide your reason for it, most students are okay with it. However, you could still end up in with admin defending what you said so be careful about this and know your community.
We live in a contentious world as educators. We have some very strong values about what is happening around our communities and how education and politics are being handled. We must be very careful about what it is we say and do because of our communities. That does not mean we can not teach tough topics, it means we just need to work harder at building positive, healthy relationships with our students and community. We need to spend more time preparing our content and lessons on these difficult topics so that, when we are called into the admin, we can defend them.
You are still a human as well as an educator. In these difficult times, you do not throw out your humanness when you enter the classroom. You do need to think about what you say and how you say it, especially in a world where your comments may end up on social media for the world to see.
