Post-Class Debate - It Was the Best Thing Ever

Greetings all! 

You probably remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about why I was so hard on my students in the classroom and why my expectations were so high. If not  - you can check it out HERE. 
Following up... Encouraging them to be critical, to respectfully challenge each other, and to even hold their teacher (yours truly) accountable works. It helps them build the skills they will need to face the tough realities of the world beyond school. Most importantly, learning skills like evidence-based debate today will prepare them to reasonably work with others and sort through differences tomorrow and in the future.

Fun story: the other day, after class had ended, a group of 9th graders stayed behind because they wanted to keep going on a debate we started in class on Medieval Europe. Now mind you these were 14 year olds...hashing it out over topics like the pitfalls of strict periodization, and how we might rethink technological developments during a period typically defined by intellectual stagnation. 

It really warmed my heart to watch them in action - to see a group of kids who disagreed with each other acknowledge difference of interpretation while still having a productive conversation.

The lesson: we should never sell our students short. Staying committed to high standards has only inspired them to think deeply about the material. Finally, I had to kick them out so they would not be late for their next class. But rest assured, I gave them the space to continue the debate the next time we all met together :) 

So if you are a student reading this...I encourage you to push a little bit harder and grapple with difficult ideas. If you are a teacher, I encourage you to challenge your students to rise above whatever it is the state mandates. To me, doing otherwise only creates a path to mediocrity...and let's be honest, that's not going to cut it down the line. 

With compliments,

Keith