Circling the Question

Students were analyzing a primary source from a boy who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, but had to leave his friend behind. One of the students asked whether he should have tried to stay and help others who were hurt or if he just had to save himself. Students were really engaged. Some argued that given the situation, it made sense for him to just save himself. Others countered that he should have tried to save others. It was exciting. They were really listening to each other, something we’d been struggling with all year.  Yet, they kept circling these same points without it going anywhere. I was happy that students were so engaged and were openly disagreeing with each other. At the same time, their focus on whether the boy should have gone back had nothing to do with the central question I wanted them to discuss: “How should we remember the dropping of the atomic bomb?” Part of me wanted to step in and move us towards a different source that might help students explore the central question. But, another part of me wanted to let the conversation unfold on its own. I didn't want to insert my voice into the conversation and take away power from the student facilitators. I also wasn't sure if this question felt resolved to students or if  they were just processing in order to get to that larger question at the moment. This question was also the easiest on-ramp for students who struggled or had been absent. These questions encourage quiet students to participate because they are opinion-based and don't require that much background knowledge. So, I could have redirected us to a new topic that I felt would be more productive or I could have let us stay on this question in the hopes that new voices would come into the conversation.