We can hear what you are saying....

Now that we have these students talking (particularly in small group discussions), we can hear what they are saying. While in part we learn to appreciate the great leadership skills demonstrated by some as discussion facilitators, other aspects of this have become more disturbing. As the affective filter is lowered and students are prompted with controversial and intriguing subjects, some have also begun to speak more freely than they would regularly in front of the entire class. We don't know how to address the dis-respectfulness, stereotyping, and racists attitudes that have been demonstrated by some students in the small group discussion. While comments appear to be made without malice, they show the joking repetition of stereotypes. We think spending some time on the history of the countries that aren't represented in our class will help them. Their worlds are very small. We acknowledge that this is a result of ignorance and needs to be addressed in some manner. Additionally, we discussed the importance of the teacher listening to the recorded discussions and providing constructive feedback. So we are excited that academic conversations are flourishing as well as critical thinking. We just need to have conversations about being respectful.