The All-Knowing Expert

During a Socratic Seminar discussion about immigration during the Gilded Age, a student was trying to recall an incident of violence towards Irish immigrants in New York. She couldn’t remember the specifics, so she turned to me for help. “You know what I’m talking about, right? What was the incident called?” Our discussions regarding violence towards immigrants during this time period had already been tense, and as a teacher with Irish heritage, I didn’t want the class to think I was giving too much attention to Irish immigrants. I also didn’t want  the class to see that I was nervous to respond, because I was only vaguely aware of the incident she was talking about. If I shared that I didn’t know any additional details, the students may view me as a less reliable source for content knowledge. As a first year teacher, this was a big fear of mine. This fear was top of mind as I considered whether to acknowledge the student’s comment without providing more detail, to look up the information myself, or to turn to the class to ask if anyone else knew.