It is a challenging time to be a teacher. In the 21st century, our students constantly see the consequences of hate, political difference, and silence. Oftentimes we shelter our students from difficult conversations in our classrooms, hoping to give them respite from controversy. Yet, as soon as they leave us, our students engage immediately with systematic and personal challenges. By silencing the desire to speak, we quell the opportunity to practice meaningful discourse, even disagreement.
The presentation demonstrates the collaboration, process, and logistics of a one-day symposium which included educators from all levels and content expertise. The aim of the symposium was to engage educators in six challenging topics: historical monuments; immigration; political division; mass shootings; race & racism; and sex, gender, & orientation. An evaluation is included of subsequent embraces by participants to design deliberate activities to breach difficult topics in their classrooms.
