Debate

            I think in most situations it is important to know and understand both sides of an issue. For the obvious reason, I believe it makes a well-rounded person; someone is not so close-minded who can see things from another’s perspective. In education I think it is especially important to understand both sides of an issue because as teachers we play many roles. Teachers are advocates for everyone that comes to talk to them, and in order to best support those that are seeking them out, it is important to know all of the information to best help.

            As teachers we will be working with students, colleagues and parents, all having different opinions about different topics. In my opinion, as an educator we need to listen closely to how every party is feeling and reassure them that what is going on in the classroom is in the best interest of the child or every student. I see the debate over State Testing as a good example of this. This seems to be a very sensitive subject because it is about testing students in a away that many believe is not beneficial or does not allow them to show their knowledge of concepts. As a teacher, we have to support the tests and teach the students what to expect, how to have good test taking skills and get them prepared. Though as teachers we may not agree with the tests and dislike the limitations it places on our teaching, we must support it because it is a requirement. When a parent walks up and wants to talk about the testing and how it is unfair, that the scores misrepresent her child’s achievements, etc. a teacher, no matter what our opinion of the test is, we must be able to support it in front of the mother. We need to know all facts and sides to the debate in order to make the parent feel comfortable with the situation.

            As teachers, we are role models for many in the community. Because of this I feel that many people look to the teachers for advice and guidance in the education sphere, and even out of it sometimes. In order to best guide people, or speak for people, we must know what we are talking about. By knowing all sides to an issue, we are only putting ourselves in the best position to be prepared when others have questions. There are also implications of knowing both sides to a debate considering a diverse classroom environment. In many cases a classroom is going to have a wide range of people with different cultures and languages. As a teacher we need to prepare every student equally. This begins to call into questions Bilingual Education, and how can we teach all students fairly, and does bilingual education take anything away from the classroom, such as delay in one language, or stigmatization, or is it a positive for all students. As a teacher we need to understand all sides to the debate of bilingual education in order to best assess our classroom culture and community and see what they need the most. I believe that understanding both sides to an issue just allows the teacher to be more open-minded when coming across issues. It allows us to be able to decide on the best methods in order to create a good learning environment, and then explain why to those that question.