I also agree with the other comments that have been made about our society placing too much emphasis on being part of the norm. But I have a question about how we break this mold. I have always wondered how we get our students to feel as if they can talk freely in class without them taking advantage of these new freedoms that most of them aren't used to. In other words, how do we teach how far is too far when sharing opinions in discussion formats? I know from personal experience that while in high school I never had a productive and meaningful class discussion without it getting out of hand and people getting worked up to the point that the discussion had to be cut short by the teacher. I feel this was due to the fact that many of my fellow students had not been able to share their opinions in the open discussion format previously and therefore did not know how to express their opinions in a civil manner and accept the fact that they have classmates with different opinions.

Since you used the example of having frustrating debates in high school, the first solution that came to my mind is starting earlier. In many elementary classrooms kids are placed in group situations, but are less often given a chance to debate things as a whole class. I guess they may sit in front of the teacher, who keeps the conversation going, like when talking about a book or other small matters. It would probably be helpful if elementary school teachers gave kids the opportunity to actually debate. However, at this young age it is easy for kids to just say the same thing as others (possibly because of a pressure to follow social norms). To solve this issue, the teacher could have the students write down their ideas before the debate. Then they would have something concrete to read and then elaborate on.

Audrey,

I really like your idea about teaching students how to debate starting in Elementary School. If students are taught early on that their opinions DO matter AND that they should respect the opinions of others, this can carry on into middle and high school, and then into life.

you know I have never thought about teaching Elementary kids how to debate, but after reading the comments I beleive that is a great idea also. Usually it's thought that you have to have opinions to debate, but children have valid opinions on things just like adolecents do.

As for the reading, I didn't really get that it was breaking the norms as much as teaching your kids that they have a mind of their own, they should use it. Just like the quote from the prosecutor in the Charles Manson case said, If we teach that these nice people that come talk to you at the park could have you killing people for their cause within months, it would open the eyes of our youth.

Candace,

You might find it reassuring that I had my high school students discuss very emotional, controversial things all the time, and I NEVER had to cut a discussion short.

Why? Maybe because I was willing to be uncomfortable myself, and wanted my students to learn that they, too, could be deeply engaged, uncomfortable - and still okay?

Candace,

I fully agree with you about people expressing their opinions. When I was in Resident Assistant (RA) training and we were discussing diversity and such, so many people got into heated arguments. What started off as a laid-back discussion grew into people becoming angry when others had differing opinions. I feel that in our schools, we do need to ensure that students are aware that it is okay to have different opinions, and it is okay to voice that opinion; however, students need to understand that there is a certain way of doing so, and one must be sensitive to the fact that not everyone is going to agree.