Dr. David J. Childs, Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
Teaching in a Divided Nation
With the US being divided and polarized along ideological, social, racial and political lines the idea of addressing controversial topics may seem very intimidating to teachers. Indeed, with many hot button issues being at the forefront of all of our minds, many teachers choose to barely even broach certain subjects. In fact, some teachers may avoid controversial subjects altogether. They tip-toe around topics such as racism, sexual assault, censorship, abortion, gay marriage or gender equality out of fear that they will get into trouble with their administrators or receive backlash from parents. Or teachers feel inadequately prepared to delve into certain topics. However, students often are confronted with these issues everyday and they need some sort of outlet, platform or safe space to process all that is going on around them. And what better space to deal with these topics than a middle grades or high school classroom.
Good Teaching Can be Messy
Good teaching can often be messy but that does not mean it is bad teaching. When approached the right way “classrooms can be welcoming spaces for students to test-drive their ideas and to see disagreement as an opportunity to learn, not as a form of conflict.” Social studies, language arts and even journalism classrooms can be “ideal incubators for facilitating constructive dialogue on today’s most divisive issues—from immigration… to religious and cultural tolerance… to the relative powers and functions of our three branches of government.”
A Roadmap for Controversial Teaching
I-Civics has prepared materials to address controversial topics. Teachers will find helpful resources in the section called Your Roadmap for Teaching Controversial Issues. I-Civics has created “five Teacher Guides and a series of brief informational videos” that equip teachers to address controversial topics in their classrooms.
Discussion Questions
A. How early should teachers introduce controversial topics in class? Are elementary students too young? Is Kindergarten too young? Why or why not?
B. What are some real obstacles or barriers for teachers as it relates to teaching controversial topics in class?
C. In what ways can controversial topics be integrated into a science or math curriculum?
This is something I am extremely nervous about, which is why I chose this article. I don’t ever want to say something that could step on toes of parents, administrators, or coworkers. With everything going on in our society today, we are bound to offend one person, it’s unavoidable. As a teacher it is our job to talk about what is going on outside of the four walls, because we are here to teach students, not hide things. I feel it is a good idea to introduce controversial topics in the classroom, but more at the middle grade to high school area. Elementary students won’t understand, so we more have to teach them about the topics associated with it. There are times where teachers have gotten in trouble for stating their opinions, and that is a no no!! We have to be open to all sides because we are not here to push our ideas and opinions on the students, we are here to teach. Our students are the next generation and they need to be educated on what is going on around them.
I think that introducing controversial topics into the classroom is a great idea and I look forward to doing so as often as is reasonably possible in my future classroom. I believe it is important to introduce students to controversial political issues, particularly in high school as they will soon be eligible voters. I do not think teachers should ever give their own opinions regarding politics, but the classroom can be a great place for educators to present both sides of an issue to the students, who may have only ever been exposed to one side of the issue. It is also crucial that our students learn how to debate and disagree with someone without becoming overly emotional or resentful of the person that they disagree with. The ability to respectfully disagree with people on the other side of the aisle seems to be an increasingly rare phenomenon, and the classroom is a great place to embed this value in our students. Finally, debating these issues helps students flesh out their own political beliefs, allows them to hear in real time both sides of an issue being debated, and may encourage them to further research the issue or even to change their mind about a topic.
I agree that controversial topics are scary and can get very messy. Just recently a high school teacher in my area got backlash for having a pride flag hanging in her classroom. Even though this teacher herself was not gay, she was an ally supporting some of her students who are gay. For this she had parents calling the school and complaining because they could see it hanging behind her in her zoom meetings. This is why teachers are afraid. I feel as though it is never to early to teach kids basics of controversial issues. You don’t always need to go into great details to get the younger ones to understand the world around them. Things such as black lives matter and gay marriage is something happening around them and they already hear about. Getting students an understanding of what is really happening without media and influence is the best way to know that they are getting an understanding of what is actually happening. With this being said, we as teachers need to make sure we are also teaching valid information so that there is no influence and therefore not as much backlash from families.
As a teacher, you are always worried about what kind of backlash you may receive from parents and administrators. This is something that I’ve definitely have thought of, especially when a student might bring up something controversial and ask what my opinion is on the topic. This has happened to many of my teachers in the past and they usually just say they do not feel comfortable answering. I think that there a bad ways and good ways in going about discussing controversial topics. Sometimes it needs to happen because like the article says, these topics are happening in students’ lives. I really appreciate the resources that are given to address them because I would like to push myself to do this in the classroom.
This was an interesting article concerning everything going on in the country currently. I know I find it extremely uncomfortable to work with certain topics as both a teacher and as a student, especially when those topics are not something I believe in or have ever experienced. They tend to make me feel that my voice on the subject would be invalid and the students would be able to pick me apart and find reason to no longer listen. However, I can also say that these are important topics and with time and experience they may become a little easier to discuss as I become more educated on how to teach and approach those subjects as a unbiased teacher, and learn to leave my feelings and opinions on subjects at home. From a college student view, they make me uncomfortable I think for two reasons, one being the fear that my teacher or classmates may react badly if my opinion is different than theirs. Yes, I know teachers are not to be biased and take points away from grades, but they could suddenly grade harder on something else that normally would be overlooked. Secondly because I was not taught how to discuss these in my classes as a student. Through middle and high school, I can not recall ever having deep conversations about controversial topics. We may have briefly discussed them, but at the time they were not heavily taught until I went off to college and found that I knew little about these topics when they surrounded me every day. Now it feels that schools are doing more to talk about these as it does come up in the news more frequently than it did 5, 10, 15 years ago.
I have not ever witnessed a teacher being fired for brining up these topics, however I have seen a teacher leave the field because of the students bringing up these topics in her room, and not being able to handle the discussion or the feeling of being cornered on her way of thinking. As a substitute I have had to face these conversations a few times in her room and at first I can say the topics that the students brought up such as gay marriage, racism, and politics made me want to run and hide. But with a few days and learning how to have open discussion with the students it became easier and less nerve racking, even when the school’s vice-principal came in to observe.
I fully agree that good teaching can be a messy thing, but sometimes it has to be in order to create something beautiful, like art. If these are the topics that matter to our students, then it is important to make sure they are getting to explore both ends of the lesson, hear both sides of the story, and learn to come together despite those differences because teachers have that power to help heal a country divided. It helps if you can get parents and your administration to help you, but in the end, you have to also do what is best for the student, even if the best is hard.
This article brings to light what I have been thinking for some time now. I don’t know how I will approach the topics such as racism, sexual assault, censorship, abortion, gay marriage or gender equality. However, I am glad that there are resources on how to teach these areas that can be found online. In addition, this thought never crossed my mind until recently. Because during my elementary and middle school years, these topics were never even talked about or touched on in school. But that was also around 10 years ago, when these topics were not really brought to light as much as it is now. Either they didn’t happen as much, or these situations didn’t get enough media attention. For me personally, I feel like it is a little bit of both. One effective and safe way that I feel we can teach and “talk about” these issues are by talking about important people, such as Martin Luther King, and talk about important events such as Rosa Parks, when she refused to give up her seat. This is already being done in certain schools, but it can be taken a step further while keeping in mind to not teach with your own personal bias which can be a big challenge. While the education of social studies can be improved on, what we have now has come a long way from when then our parents were in school. And I believe that some of the social studies education I was taught has made me an empathetic person. However, the lessons that were taught didn’t have the same effect on all of my other peers.
Many topics are hard to teach in the classroom, but they need to be discussed. Students need to have a place where they can get information on racial inequality, gay marriage, etc. without receiving that information through the filter of the news outlets. The classroom should be a safe place where students can bring up these topics and as their teacher, we can have an educated discussion on the topic. The I-Civic website is a good resource to start the planning of controversial topics.
While it may not be easy to address these issues in a classroom, it is important to talk about these things. Issue such as racism, gay marriage, and all of the others listed are things that the students will experience. It may not be a topic that is fun to talk about, but that does not mean that the teacher should deprive the students of this information. Teachers should be preparing students for all aspects of their life, because at the end of the day, the students will come into contact with these topics. The I-Civics website is a good resource to start to plan a controversial, but beneficial, lesson for your class.
Broaching onto these topics with children can be nerve wracking but that does not change that it is important. For educators, it is worrisome to think about potential future repercussions due to parents getting upset over their children learning about sensitive or controversial topics in the classroom, but students are also taught that school is a safe space and a place to learn with through our guidance and help. Then, of course, they are going to expect us to do just that- teach. After all, these real-world issues are something that they have a high possibility of facing every day and they deserve to understand what is happening around them. Ignorance is not always bliss.
With that being said, students’ ages still need to be taken in consideration because while they are citizens like the rest of us, they are still children. In regard to the BLM Movement, this is something that can be brought up throughout any grade level. For elementary school, this could be a chance for higher grades to think critically about civics issues that we are facing in our society, but younger students would using this as a lesson on not treating people differently based on their looks (treat people how you would want to be treated).
As an education student in my last year of college and approaching my first year of teaching, this has topic been on my mind for awhile, especially considering the world’s climate. I have questioned the appropriate age level to bring up and teach about controversial topics. Reading this article solidified my opinion. I believe that truly at any age level you can bring up a controversial topic because children will be exposed to it anyway. However, how you present the information is incredibly important. For example, I am currently placed in a kindergarten classroom for a student teaching practicum. In regards to the Black Lives Matter movement, I would believe it to be important to teach the students to treat others they way would want to be treated. I would teach how skin color does not make a person lesser or greater. That we should celebrate each others differences and acknowledge how they can actually make us stronger. I have also found the Roadmap resource to be very helpful and useful. If one has time, I would suggest visiting the page! The video are short, but packed with good information.