Printer-friendly version“Will we be learning history from a biblical or counter-biblical perspective?” James asked.
I could see an intense honesty in his eyes, one that I’m pretty sure only teachers know. It was another one of those moments when my mind searched at hyper-speed for the right words. I wanted to make sure that this student felt I had given a genuine answer. I wanted him to remain connected to me and
to the course.
“What do you mean by that?” I replied.
Through the subtle change in his facial expression I could tell that he had started to let his guard down a bit. His eyebrows reached for his forehead and a minor sigh escaped him before he began his reply. With subtle exasperation he explained.
“Well, it’s just that history can be taught from a biblical or counter-biblical perspective. I’m just curious if what we’re going to learn will be related to Christianity.”
My face must have been in quite a stitch, because he raised his voice to continue.
“If we’re going to search through history to explain where our beliefs come from, then when we study an idea like ‘All men are created equal,’ that has a very specific biblical origin; it’s a Christian idea.”
I nodded in way that I hoped would come across as thoughtful. The class watched to see how I would respond. I’m in trouble now, I thought. As a teacher who is on a mission to make sure that my class is an inclusive environment, I knew that this moment would either keep James engaged, allow him to shift into neutral or enable him to shut down completely.
“That’s an interesting question,” I replied. “I think you’ll find that our study of the origins of such ideas will be open to a variety of interpretations, because that’s what history is. History is the story of how we got to where we are now, and it can be dramatically different depending on who’s telling it. Our process will be inquiry-based, giving you the chance to discover various versions and decide which one makes the most sense to you.”
James had that glassy stare in his eyes as he worked to process what I had said. Seemingly satisfied with my answer he shifted back into his seat, and the garden-variety questions came streaming in.
Later that evening, I had dinner with some fellow teachers and explained what had happened in class that day. One colleague turned instantly negative. “You’re kidding me!” the teacher said. “What kind of crazy
family does he come from?!”
And at that moment something unexpected happened. Within seconds, I found myself defending my student’s right to have a specifically religious worldview when approaching our class and the content. Although I was also surprised by his question, and disagree with looking at history in that way only, I was struck by my colleague’s immediate disregard of one of the most important values that teachers must embrace. We should ensure that our classrooms are places where all students can find pathways to make personal connections to the content. And we need to practice tolerance in the same ways we would expect of our students. Our work in building a just and peaceful world will be quickly uprooted if students are left to feel like their own narratives aren’t worth discussing.
It’s at times like these that we must remember to be hard on the content and soft on the people—and that learning tolerance is just as important as teaching it.
Greenslate is a Teaching Tolerance blogger and humanities teacher at High Tech High School in San Diego, Calif.
Comments
I think this was a great
I think this was a great answer, especially defending the right of all students to voice questions or viewpoints without fear. However these situations offer unique teaching opportunities about ideas in general.
One of the things I would have included is the idea that the world is simply not binary. Just because a viewpoint is not completely aligned with our own does not necessarily make it 'counter' to it.
Being introduced to this concept is often the first step for a student to begin to see the world, other people and other viewpoints in terms of gradients, rather than simplistically as either white (pro my own viewpoint) or black (pro any other viewpoint). This necessarily creates greater tolerance towards these unknown 'others' and their ideas. Teaching tolerance becomes nearly impossible when people cling to the idea that the only way to preserve their own beliefs is to entirely avoid exposure to any others.
I agree it's important to honor students' commitment to their faith (or whatever tenets they feel compelled to preserve or defend), yet it's also important to open the world to them by showing them what it means to become educated. That is, showing them that part of the process of education itself is being able to see the world through many others viewpoints in order to reach more informed conclusions.
Great article. Highschool is
Great article. Highschool is such a tough age because you're just starting to tackle some intense ideas, but you don't have the life experience to give them true meaning. You're also trying to make them fit with what you already know (which is hardly ever easy). You did a great job at not taking sides and I admire your defense of the student to your colleague.
I think your response was
I think your response was wonderful, but I don't think your colleague was out of order in making the comment he did (aside from the disablism). You want your students to understand the world in conjunction with the individual, familial and cultural values that have shaped them; but some for some families, this is not enough. Some parents want to redact anything that contradicts or questions their world view. If they have their way, their offspring will be prevented from even being aware that alternate views exist, let alone have merit. The likelihood is that your student lives with such a family.