Sensitive Topics
Hi Everyone!!
The sun is out and hope you're enjoying the beeeeooootiful long weekend! This is a topic that's been in the back of my mind since the course began and a couple of things I've watched and experienced lately have really got me thinking a little bit more about this and how I would handle situations such as those as a teacher.
The world is a mess right now and tensions and sensitivities seem to be at an extreme level, especially in classrooms. As teachers, how would you deal with issues and conflicts that arise about politics, sexuality, equality, political correctness, mental health etc. in your classrooms? Even though we're ESL teachers, I'm quite certain that we will most likely come across some of these things at some point when teaching.
I found this article that I thought was quite good. Take a read, but I'd also like to get your thoughts and ideas.
https://bento.cdn.pbs.org/hostedbento-prod/filer_public/SBAN/Images/Classrooms/Ten%20Tips%20for%20Facilitating%20Classroom%20Discussions%20on%20Sensitive%20Topics_Final.pdf
The sun is out and hope you're enjoying the beeeeooootiful long weekend! This is a topic that's been in the back of my mind since the course began and a couple of things I've watched and experienced lately have really got me thinking a little bit more about this and how I would handle situations such as those as a teacher.
The world is a mess right now and tensions and sensitivities seem to be at an extreme level, especially in classrooms. As teachers, how would you deal with issues and conflicts that arise about politics, sexuality, equality, political correctness, mental health etc. in your classrooms? Even though we're ESL teachers, I'm quite certain that we will most likely come across some of these things at some point when teaching.
I found this article that I thought was quite good. Take a read, but I'd also like to get your thoughts and ideas.
https://bento.cdn.pbs.org/hostedbento-prod/filer_public/SBAN/Images/Classrooms/Ten%20Tips%20for%20Facilitating%20Classroom%20Discussions%20on%20Sensitive%20Topics_Final.pdf
Thank you Cat for sharing! They were very good tips which help teachers to lead the discussion in a good way. I also think that it might be good to teach those things implicitly through teaching about laws and regulations in those topics; for example, what is Canadian approach to sexual harassment? What can be considered as sexual harassment? How can we avoid sexual harassment? What is the penalty for the sexual harassment in Canada? Are these behaviour considered as sexual harassment in other countries; such as students' country? What do students think about it? Then we would have more control over the discussion among students while at the same time they could learn more about their rights and people rights in where they live.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really great point I didn't think of, Saeedeh, TEACHING Canadian culture and policies around different things. It's reality that different countries have different views around certain topics and to integrate into Canadian society, they may not be aware of the differences. Thanks for your take on that, you are so right!
DeleteThanks Cat, Sensitive topics are important to be aware of for any teacher in any field. So, it's an important topic for discussion so that teachers can increase awareness of sensitive topics!
ReplyDeleteSee you soon!
Yes! Kevin, as we talked about yesterday, the 'policing' mindset requires skills we need to un-learn as teachers. LOL.
DeleteYou're welcome, James!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Cat! Very good points! It is so true that we might come across these topics during our class. It is a good idea to set up some rules on the very first day of the class regarding the sensitive topics and clarify the consequences. Try to commit to the rules and be consistent about them. It will work for the most part!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that's a great idea to outline some rules and consequences on the very first day of class. I guess a lot of it comes down to knowing your students and their backgrounds too!
Delete