The students were asked to think about the strengths and weaknesses of Athenian democracy. Two students were tasked with writing the responses up on the board. Melissa stated that the practice of exiling people was a weakness of their democracy. I asked her to elaborate on her answer. I wanted us to look more closely at one particular document which stated that Athenians voted annually to exile potential threats to their democracy, which could be seen as democratic. The document also states that archaeological evidence exists that points to voter fraud in one of these elections, showing that over a hundred votes were cast by a small handful of people. I felt stuck. I wanted Melissa to know that there wasn’t one right answer, and that by looking more closely at the text she could unearth some of the contradictions and nuances of the document. At the same time, I worried that by correcting her she might shut down, and not participate in future discussions.
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Maria
9th Grade
Ancient and Medieval Civilizations
Preservice Teaching Year
- What is the teacher's dilemma? Consider the teacher's goals, possible actions, beliefs about the situation and the students, and their own self-perceptions.
- Complete or modify the following sentence in a way that captures the teacher's central tension in the situation: "While on the one hand, the teacher believed/wanted/felt/did __________, on the other hand, they believed/wanted/felt/did __________."
- Thinking about your own discussion facilitation, do you correct students when they present incorrect information when you worry doing so might cause them to avoid participation in the future? If you do, what ways of correcting students have been successful?