Contested Control

We were about to start the discussion. My students were really excited about this one, the classroom energy was great. I had assigned one of my students, Christina, to be the “facilitator.” It was her responsibility to keep a speaker’s list, monitor participation, and pose questions when the conversation died. 

Before the discussion had formally started, Derrick, a student who frequently participates, blurted out his answer to the central question. I started to feel nervous because it was clear to me that not everyone was ready to launch the discussion. Jace, a student who is often off task, but seemed genuinely engaged, took issue with Derrick, “bullsh** you can’t cut the line, I was first.” Christina, the student facilitator jumped in, “I'm the facilitator, I control the discussion, not you.” Mocking her tone, Derrick quipped, “I’m the facilitator.” The whole class started to egg them on, “ooing” and “ahhing,” completely off task. I was so disappointed. The energy had been so good, but in one instant everything turned. Of course, right at that moment my assistant principal called and I had to talk to him about another student. The class broke into chaos. The volume started to increase as Christina, Derrick, and Jace argued about who had control of the discussion. Even while I listened to my assistant principal, I could hear Christina, the facilitator, was starting to get really frustrated. I brainstormed what I would do when I got off the phone. I thought about shutting down the discussion and shifting to silent reading, jumping in and facilitating the discussion myself, or simply asking Christina to restart the discussion. I hung up the phone, but still wasn’t sure what to do.