I Completely Disagree!

Something I try to do is de-center myself and center my students’ voices during discussions. I did this during a discussion about what are the most effective forms of nation building. While I was successful in limiting my speech, I noticed there were some drawbacks. For instance, during this discussion with my 10th graders one student made a claim that the most effective form of nation building was religion. The student cited examples from all over the world, including in the Middle East and Asia. A close friend of that student jumped in and said, “I completely disagree with you. You’re wrong. Religion creates division, like here in America. I think the most effective form of nation building is through propaganda. Like what Mao did in China!” At that moment I panicked. First, I was worried that the second student’s quick retort and blatant disagreement would upset his friend. Second, I was concerned that other students would be upset by the idea that Mao Zedong was an effective nation builder by using propaganda, essentially disregarding his oppressive actions. I did not anticipate these comments and I felt ill-equipped to respond. Or even if I should respond. I wanted to center my students' voices, but I felt tension throughout the classroom and I thought that I should do something to create a safe space for my students to disagree, but also respect that some viewpoints may not be appropriate for our classroom.