Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[dew]

I'm tossing this one out to all of you because I need to know what other people really think. This subject just came up with the ESL practicum. There seems to be a lot of controversy around to teach or not to teach ESL adults (and obviously I'm talking about high to intermediate ESL learners) about 9/11, the holocaust, Rwanda, Darfur, etc. etc. I said that 9/11, like other historical atrocities have a place in the classroom. That if we can and we do talk about it outside, why not discuss it inside the class? I'm not talking about making an intensive lesson on it, just an organized disucussion. I would not pass judgment on anyone. I got a lot of negative feedback on this and I found that really depressing. Depressing because what a sad thing it is to say we shouldn't talk about something that affects everyone in the world. I'm not saying make a history lesson out of it. This person in my class feels it should be left outside the class. What do you think?
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dew

[Mister Micawber]

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It is all in how it is presented and how the bounds of the discussion are monitored. Such topics should be first vetted in the class, and not pursued if any hesitancy or uncomfortability is observed or suspected. With a class of students with whom you are reasonably well-acquainted, there should be almost nothing you cannot discuss.

My adult classes in Yokohama regularly touch on Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Pearl Harbor, though that is all in the past for all but my more senior students. We also discuss 9/11, Iraq, George Bush, Christianity, Islam, the Holocaust, Palestine, Kim Jung Il, homosexual marriages, AIDS, and about anything else that comes up and interests them-- which also includes sports, movies and fashions, just in case you think we are an overserious bunch.

(I notice belatedly that you mention it is one of the people in your class-- if it is a student, avoid controversial discussion; if it is a fellow teacher, to each his own).
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"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
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Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's