In class, when discussing this scenario from Responding to Student Writing, several students correctly criticized the teacher for her written response to student James Addickes' proposal on abortion and for allowing her personal subjectivity to interfere with her ability to successfully facilitate this assignment on an ethical issue. I won't revisit that here. Instead, I'll offer several miscellaneous thoughts on this scenario that occurred to me after class ended.
First, I noticed that Betsy Roche let her "animosity" toward James begin to grow to "palpable proportions" when the class "considered together some issues surrounding public housing" (57). James offered in class that public housing was nothing more than a way to "allow pimps, prostitutes, and junkies to live on the dole and avoid getting a job." Betsy had to restrain her inclination to snap at him. Instead of being so hypersensitive and taking James' opinion as a personal affront, Betsy should have used his comment as an opportunity for a "teachable moment." To begin, she should have acknowledged the validity of James' point of view; his comments represent a common perception and a point of view that has an element of truth in it. She should have reviewed the intended purpose of public housing and acknowledged that it is indeed being abused by a certain percentage of residents there. Next, she could have elicited from the class -- or from James himself -- practical steps to alleviate the problem by discussing laws and procedures already in place (which may not currently be effectively enforced) and legislation needing to be enacted. Once this had been covered, Betsy could have discussed the many law-abiding, hard-working (but low-income) residents and reviewed the various life circumstances that qualify applicants for public housing. She could have asked James: "Should the public housing service provided to the majority be discontinued because of abuses by a minority of residents? Should the baby be thrown out with the bath water?" If time permitted, this could have led to a broader discussion about empathy and a healthy debate about the role of government in providing assistance to those in need. Bottom line: Betsy should never let a student's confrontational attitude, hostile tone, or myopic view derail a discussion or interfere with opportunities to involve students in effective critical thinking exercises whenever they present themselves.
Next, I think Betsy's students should have been guided more purposefully in the selection of their topics. When several recalcitrant students "wondered why they could not simply do some more reading and thinking for a couple of weeks and then write a paper about 'something that's really interesting, not all this boring stuff'", this indicates that greater teacher intervention is required. In my classes, we use butcher paper and brainstorm topics in six or seven categories. We don't stop until there are at least ten suggestions under each category. Students roam from place to place in the room, posting their ideas on each category taped to the wall. The last time we did this, the categories were the following: Education, Science/Medicine, History, Sports, Arts & Entertainment, Politics & Government, and Current Events. Students have to compose their topics as questions: Is euthanasia ethical? Should school uniforms be mandatory on campus? Were the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki good decisions? Do movies and video games with violent content harm society? Should football be discontinued in view of medical findings regarding concussions? With 70 or more topics posted, chances are high that every student will discover a topic of interest to research and write about.
The topic of abortion, I have found through experience, is a convenient topic that comes to mind almost immediately for students. Some students genuinely care about the issue, but others select it only because nothing else came to mind. After the teacher helps students generate as many as 70 topics as possibilities, many students will probably choose a different topic, one that they will pursue passionately. If James Addickes considered a range of other topics and remained adamant about selecting abortion, he should have been allowed to do so. I don't see how declaring that certain topical issues are off-limits encourages critical thinking.The narrow thinking revealed in James' proposal could have been addressed during the pre-writing process, so Betsy Roche should not have been unduly alarmed; it is to be expected.
I think it is helpful to use graphic organizers, such as a T-graph, during the pre-writing process. On one side, the students can list Pro arguments, and on the other side Con. A student is not allowed to continue until both sides are completed. If a student cannot fill out one side or the other, he or she should consult a classmate or the teacher, or do independent research. Once a student can come up with three or more separate arguments on each side of the fence, the student is now acknowledging that there are valid points of view on both sides. At this point the student is better prepared to choose a side, recognizing that there are valid counterarguments on the other side. I use another graphic organizer to help students add supporting evidence to each argument and counterargument. Using this format, students now have a basic structure in which to follow. They can compose an introduction which orients the reader to the relevance of the issue and includes a thesis statement which definitively establishes their position on the issue. Next, they can outline their strongest arguments and use relevant supporting evidence as they develop each separate claim. Then, they can discuss counterarguments and specifically respond to each one while defending their own position. They can conclude by supplying practical, specific suggestions regarding how the issue should be handled.
In class, a few students expressed reservations about the use of the Bible as an argument or as supporting evidence. Personally, I've never had a problem with this. I allow the Bible to serve as one argument (of the three or four required total), with specific scriptures cited as supporting evidence. The student must, however, provide a counterargument to the Biblical point of view on the graphic organizer and in the essay. By considering and responding to this counterargument, the essay achieves balance.
Interesting article. It resonated with me during spring break, so I decided to blog about it.
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