Tough Talk... Political Conversations in the Classroom

​Last month was a bit of a PD whirlwind for me. The two big events I was part of were CUE 18 in Palm Springs and the California Council of Social Studies in San Diego. I have wanted to spend sometime blogging about these events for all the reasons why journaling is important. 

• It allows for reflection
• It forces me to take those reflections and try to summarize and codify them into something meaningful for me
• For a guy who played way too many years of football and took too many hits, it is a permanent record of my thoughts and travels 
• It also allows me to write for others and for me that means sharing and giving back to this community I am part of

But, with that being said, I still haven’t begun to put down my thoughts from those events yet. The reason for this post is simply that I want to reflect and share ONE inspiring moment. ONE moment which I am bringing back to my own district and ONE in which that I feel is more meaningful than almost any tool or tip I’ve shared before. 

These are the words from Diana Hess from her keynote “Teaching in a Time of Political Change” from the CA Social Studies conference. 

​In trying to digest the her keynote, I found myself without a seat, standing in the back and feverishly trying to take notes on my phone. This is NOT the best way to record one’s thoughts and feelings, but there I was with backpack on and swiping away on my phone. Has this happened to you... been in this situation where you are feeling that swell of emotion and motivation but questioning yourself as you write and wondering "how can I get down on paper how inspired I am feeling now, and better yet… how can share these feeling to my colleagues back home”?

That was me. 

How can I replicate those emotions and passions I am feeling? 

But I did have a few things going for me to help:
1) I had someone filming parts of her speech from his seat in the audience
2) I found a modified version of her keynote on YouTube
3) I bought her books!

After trying to digest these, I've created this post
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We are teaching in an extremely challenging age politically; it’s hard to argue that democracy itself is  in good shape. Hess showed an impressive collection of data that demonstrates just that point, showing an ever increasing polarization of the left and the right in our country. (see below an animation showing this)

But should this mean we bury our head in our curriculum and stay the course?

No, now should be the time to have these conversations!

“every student in the United States regardless of where they live; regardless of their race, or their ethnicity, or their religion or their social class or their citizenship is afforded a high-quality political education”
~ Diana Hess

Starting this is not easy. There are barriers. And like any barrier, it will be a challenge to overcome it. 

What teachers can do are to create and scaffold lessons where students have opportunities to discuss (not just listening to the teachers). In these discussions teachers can help students to learn to speak clearly and back up ideas with evidence as well as learning to listen with civility with those of different views. 

Arghh... hold on... I feel like I am not doing a good job in getting her message across. 

So, how about this... I found a shortened version of her talk online. Check out the video below. I will be sharing this clip plus my notes from this with educators back in my own district in Rocklin. You can view the video link and my notes from this on this document. 

Best of luck to you all on your journey with these kinds of conversations.