Controversy in the Classroom: The Democratic Power of Discussion
In a conservative educational climate that is dominated by policies like No Child Left Behind, one of the most serious effects has been for educators to worry about the politics of what they are teaching and how they are teaching it. As a result, many dedicated teachers choose to avoid controversial issues altogether in preference for "safe" knowledge and "safe" teaching practices. Diana Hess interrupts this dangerous trend by providing readers a spirited and detailed argument for why...
Search in google:
In a conservative educational climate that is dominated by policies like No Child Left Behind, one of the most serious effects has been for educators to worry about the politics of what they are teaching and how they are teaching it. As a result, many dedicated teachers choose to avoid controversial issues altogether in preference for "safe" knowledge and "safe" teaching practices. Diana Hess interrupts this dangerous trend by providing readers a spirited and detailed argument for why curricula and teaching based on controversial issues are truly crucial at this time. Through rich empirical research from real classrooms throughout the nation, she demonstrates why schools have the potential to be particularly powerful sites for democratic education and why this form of education must include sustained attention to authentic and controversial political issues that animate political communities. The purposeful inclusion of controversial issues in the school curriculum, when done wisely and well, can communicate by example the essence of what makes communities democratic while simultaneously building the skills and dispositions that young people will need to live in and improve such communities.
Series Editor IntroductionAcknowledgments xvIntroduction 1Part I The Case for Controversial Political Issues1 Why Democracy Demands Controversy 112 Rationales for Controversial Issues Discussions in Schools 273 Defining Controversial Political Issues 37Part II Inside Classrooms4 Skillful Teaching of Controversial Issues Discussions 535 Diversity in Our Midst: Ideological Diversity in Classrooms and Its Impact on Controversial Issues Discussion 776 To Disclose or Not to Disclose: A Controversial Choice for Teachers Co-authored with Paula McAvoy 97Part III Controversy in the Curriculum7 Teaching in the Tip: Controversies About What Is Legitimately Controversial 1138 September 11: "The Ultimate Teachable Moment": How Supplementary Materials and Textbooks Deal with Controversy in the Classroom 1319 Creating More Controversy in Classrooms 161Appendix A Methodological Overview of Study Used in Chapters 5 and 6 175Appendix B Views about Issues Discussions 179Notes 181Bibliography 185Index 193
