All of us are still reeling from the events that occurred in Tuscon, Arizona. Many of us are not only asking “why?” but are afraid that we’ll be faced with another horrendous act of violence in the not too distant future. I’m asking another important question:
What message are we sending to our children¬–the children of America and the world?
Outside of school, our children are being barraged by violent video games, violence in movies and television, and adults shouting and calling each other names on 24-hour news networks. Are these types of messages advancing the kind of learning and habits of mind that we want in our children and grandchildren?
Because we live in an interdependent world, we know that to be successful, we need to communicate well and work well with a wide variety of people. Many of you are familiar with the rainbow graphic of the Partnership for 21st Century Learning. In addition to mastering the core subjects of mathematics, English/language arts, science, and social studies, the Partnership proposes that students must also be “fluent” in learning and innovation skills (critical thinking, communications, collaboration, creativity); information and technology skills (including media literacy); and life and career skills, including the ability to analyze and solve problems.
How are we doing in developing this core of “new basics”? We’re making progress. Just look back to previous entries about Winterboro School in Talladega County or George Hall Elementary in Mobile to see that some students are getting the type of education that will serve them well in the future.
But, sadly, there are still too many classrooms that are set up and run just like they were in the Cold War schools of the 1950s, when some of us learned to “duck and cover” out of fear of a distant and unknown enemy.
In today’s highly connected world, it’s time for us to relearn – or perhaps learn for the first time – how to have a civil discourse with others, both in physical and virtual space. This means being able to have a dialogue with someone about a hot or controversial topic in a way that is respectful, engaging, and informed.
Milton Chen, senior fellow and executive director emeritus of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, and a former director of research at Sesame (Street) Workshop, reminds us that this type of discussion comes naturally to younger children. He tells the story of visiting schools in New York City in the late 1970s to gather questions from children aged 8-12. Here are some of their questions:
• “Why do people get sick?”
• “How does your body know when it’s time to grow?”
• “How is a chimpanzee smarter than a porpoise?”
What wonderful, healthy, productive questions.
Mike Schmoker, the author of several highly regarded books, among them Results Now, highlights the importance of what is called “argumentative literacy.” Schmoker points to the work of Gerald Graff, who contends that argumentative literacy is “central to being educated,” granting “access to forms of intellectual capital that have a lot of power in the world.” In other words: to be listened to. Schmoker extends Graff’s thinking by using a term coined by Mike Rose, “critical literacy,” which means the ability to “frame an argument or take someone else’s argument apart” in a civil way.
High school and college debaters practice argumentative literacy all the time. In fact, debaters participate in tournaments in rounds – sometimes arguing in favor of a proposition and then later arguing against it. Debate enables participants to learn first-hand that there is always more than one side to an issue and that both sides (or multiple sides) have merits. And nuances. Debaters also follow protocols that help them keep their focus on attacking the issues, not their opponents.
Argumentative literacy can help students be well-prepared for college and to function as productive citizens in tomorrow’s world. Yet, researchers find that only about 20% of students are ever exposed to this type of dialogue and discussion. And we can imagine that even less attention is given to the arguments that take place online – which they increasingly do, with even less civility.
Isn’t it time for our students to learn that you can enter into a discussion about a controversial subject and still maintain poise? How can we help them learn that seeking to understand another’s point of view is important? And that respecting that person’s right to an opinion, even when we disagree with his or her position, is critical to a healthy, functioning democracy?
There could be a small silver lining from the tragedy in Tuscon, if we work to promote argumentative literacy in all of our discussions – both inside and outside of school. Thanks to technology, our constantly connected world is getting smaller and – strange as it seems – more personal in some ways. Has civil discourse ever been a more urgent issue?
