Hi, My name is Valerie Rose. I teach high school ELA at a continuation high school and I run a blog about literature and literacy. I am also a woman of color. I teach about sensitive topics almost daily. As an educator, I think one of my primary jobs to teach students how to have open discussions on a variety of topics, including sensitive topics. I want my classroom to be a place where we enjoy many ideas and have important conversations. That being said, in order to have those discussions, we often come across opposing viewpoints. Navigating those viewpoints is an important part of the lesson. I remind students that we are in the class to learn. We may need to push ourselves more than we are comfortable in order to grow. We might also disagree and if we get too heated, I ask students to pause. I ask student to mull over ideas for a day and we revisit the discussion the next day. We write a lot about our thoughts. That makes it easier for many of my students to discuss things without getting too heated. I have opinions but ethically, I want students to be able to articulate their own thoughts. That means I have to facilitate but not direct the conversation. It's something I have to keep in mind because I think my students enjoy discussing difficult topics together. Thank you for your consideration! Please feel free to edit, alter, or change, my response to suit your needs. Sincerely, Valerie Rose TheWearyEducator.com
The most important of all is not to shy away from them, but to attack them head on and persevere. What is 'sensitive' is the mind experiencing the anxiety that is surfacing when it begins to make contact with issues otherwise suppressed. Sensitive topics are sensitive because they have been suppressed in the first place, so avoiding them more re-enforces [strengthens] the sensitivity. Editing out sensitive topics is the ironic mistake sensitivity 'readers' make in publishing. Literature is meant to increase self-awareness by alchemising unprocessed thought patterns [resulting in break-through or 'aha']. This only takes place when anxiety provoking thought patterns are contemplated deeply, felt into and intellectualised via the written word—and this process is meaningful in contrast with walking on eggs shells, or editing out certain words that may offend [cause anxiety among] others. Avoiding our duty's as storytellers is unethical, trying to make everyone comfortable makes things worse, isn't sustainable, meaningful nor intellectually useful to any party. The flip side on the far end is also true—ranting aimlessly normally lacks utility [see social media] unless it is by way of direct speech or dialogue within a novel coming from a character whose role in the book serves the story.