|
Make a comment
Teaching Controversial Issues:
A Four-Step Classroom Strategy
Patrick Clarke
For the past decade, one of the most popular continuing education workshops offered by the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation in Canada has been “Teaching controversial issues—without becoming part of the controversy.” The popularity of the workshop reflects a growing awareness of the need to teach social issues. Yet the motivation for teaching about environmental sustainability, limits to economic growth, animal rights, or euthanasia is tempered by an understandable wariness of controversy. So while our workshop on teaching controversial issues is well subscribed, we know that the pedagogical danger zone such social issues present is one many teachers avoid.
...In spite of many impediments to addressing controversial issues, the fact remains that one of the major challenges for contemporary teaching is the problem of relevance. The value of a formal education is increasingly measured according to the degree to which it meets certain current expectations: that it should be future oriented, and should help students think critically and act upon social issues and problems.
What is needed is an approach to teaching issues that overcomes the obstacles — specifically, our concern for the influence of our own biases, our fear of becoming a lightning rod for controversy simply because a controversial issue is discussed in a class, and our lack of confidence because of unfamiliarity with an issue.
The approach to teaching controversial issues put forward here tries to answer at least part of those concerns.
... ... ...
Subscribe to read more!
Make a comment
|
Teaching Controversial Issues