In the mornings, I teach AP English Language, which is fundamentally a class about argumentation. We learn about the rhetorical triangle, using good evidence, finding patterns in the arguments of others, analysis, and a bevy of other things. Today's lesson was to watch Hank Green's short video on the mass incarceration of many American citizens and figure out his argument (and the warrants underlying it). Then we were going to talk about what we can infer about the speaker by the argument he makes.
Then we were going to do something completely different, but we never really got there. The conversation about the video turned into a full-on debate about the efficacy of the prison system and whether convicted felons should get second chances to be able to get jobs and support themselves/their families. We also connected the video to the one we watched yesterday, which talked (in part) about the development of the prefrontal cortex in teenagers and how that affects impulse control until people are 25 years old.
The argument was good, for sure. I would even call it tense and electric--the best kind of debate. And when I plan these things more thoroughly, I put structures in place to require almost everyone to participate. However, days like this are all too rare, when kids latch onto something and want to talk and talk about it, and sometimes in my zeal to plan and stay the course, I have all-too-often steered the tangents and conversations back to REAL ACADEMIC WORK and not allowed space for thoughts to develop and unfurl and ramble a little bit.
It was awesome.
And it was a little bit of a reminder to practice what I preach- that learning is messy, it takes awhile, and it doesn't necessarily happen on a regimented schedule, at least not all the time.
Then we were going to do something completely different, but we never really got there. The conversation about the video turned into a full-on debate about the efficacy of the prison system and whether convicted felons should get second chances to be able to get jobs and support themselves/their families. We also connected the video to the one we watched yesterday, which talked (in part) about the development of the prefrontal cortex in teenagers and how that affects impulse control until people are 25 years old.
The argument was good, for sure. I would even call it tense and electric--the best kind of debate. And when I plan these things more thoroughly, I put structures in place to require almost everyone to participate. However, days like this are all too rare, when kids latch onto something and want to talk and talk about it, and sometimes in my zeal to plan and stay the course, I have all-too-often steered the tangents and conversations back to REAL ACADEMIC WORK and not allowed space for thoughts to develop and unfurl and ramble a little bit.
It was awesome.
And it was a little bit of a reminder to practice what I preach- that learning is messy, it takes awhile, and it doesn't necessarily happen on a regimented schedule, at least not all the time.
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