Looking over the “controversial issues” section in the school board Instructional Materials Curriculum Committee Handbook it states,
“The instructional program shall respect the right of students to face issues, to have free access to information, to study teachers in situations free from prejudice and to form, hold, and express their own opinions without personal prejudice of discrimination. Teachers shall guide discussions and procedures with thoroughness and objectivity to acquaint students with the need to recognize opposing viewpoints, the importance of fact, the value of judgment, and the virtue of respect for conflicting opinions.”
This seems like a steep but fair job for teacher. The section in the above paragraph that sticks out to me lately is when it talks about having free access to information. The sentence does not state that students have the freedom to access information, but instead students have the right “to have free access to information.” While in my observations, I have noticed a lot of frustration from the students and some teachers about the restricted sites on the internet. The students in my classroom are writing argumentative papers and they are given ample in-class time to research and write. These students do not have the freedom to access all information, but they are given the internet, computers, and a library to get free information. Whether this is right or wrong I am not sure, but it is a very interesting syntactical sentence in the OSPI handbook.
Another thing that this section of the handbook makes apparent is the need for students to express their opinions and hold discussions with teachers. The ERICdigest states that “the essence of a healthy democracy is open dialogue about issues or public concern. An integral part of the training of young citizens, therefore, includes the discussion of controversial social, political, and economic policies.” This ERICdigest discusses the known effects of having controversial issues discussions within classrooms in middle and high school. Research results have shown that having discussions and debates in class on controversial issues creates positive outcomes; students feel more positively to political conversations, they have higher efficacy, they show more confidence and trust (Hahn, Angell & Tocci 1988). Additionally, the issues discussed have shown to improve civic tolerance (Goldenson 1978). Having controversial conversations, which will be possible in my endorsement area—English Language Arts—creates students who become stronger, and more active citizens.
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