STAFF EDITORIAL: Growing support of complexity makes discussions better

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[STAFF EDITORIAL] Contribute meaningfully to assemblies and discussions
February 2, 2024
Over+the+past+few+years%2C+in+classrooms%2C+Harkness+discussions%2C+and+in+senior+speeches%2C+members+of+the+community+have+asked+for+their+peers+to+be+more+accepting+about+emotional+perspectives+and+open+to+criticism+about+insensitive+comments.+

Webster Lehmann

Over the past few years, in classrooms, Harkness discussions, and in senior speeches, members of the community have asked for their peers to be more accepting about emotional perspectives and open to criticism about insensitive comments.

In classrooms, Harkness discussions, and in senior speeches, members of the community have asked for their peers to be more accepting of perspectives and open to criticism about insensitive comments. And, so far this year, students have been much more receptive of these requests.

THEN

It’s sometime last school year, and a student is sitting in class when someone says something offensive. Even the teacher feels uncomfortable and a visible tension spreads as the hurtful words reach each student’s’ ears. One student continues to sit quietly. He thinks about speaking up but the words never leave his lips because of fear of judgement or retaliation. In the same class a student does choose to speak up but she’s met with defensiveness and smirks.

 

 

People feel more at ease talking about issues from politics to race from an emotional perspective, no longer staying silent as students focus on the less personal side of a topic over the Harkness table when in reality they can both coexist. When someone says something offensive, more people speak up and explain why their comment was insensitive or wrong. The emotional responses that students share contribute to the conversation by bringing in personal experiences that can deepen discussions or help support more objective statements.  Now, discussions see an effective pairing of informative intellectual comments and personal experiences.

NOW

Take a similar situation this year. He’s sitting in class again and feels that urge to speak up tugging at his vocal chords, only this time they let the sound through. He tells the class why what that student said was not funny or incorrect. The other student echoes his comment: she tells them why it’s hurtful and starts a conversation about it. Their words are met with more attentive eyes, more open minds, and an effort to understand that wasn’t as present in previous years.

Because of these two developments – more people speaking up against offensive comments and the inclusion of more emotional responses – student discussions now feel more productive and inclusive while still addressing uncomfortable topics and getting people to think from different viewpoints.

 

And the goal of these conversations has shifted as well. Rather than arguing to convince another person or shut them down, students more comfortable with ending an argument in peaceful disagreement on either end: in other words – class discussions are starting to become more about sharing knowledge rather than fighting to change another perspective.

This doesn’t mean all conversations at SPA are perfect – they’re not always accepting, kept in check, or include emotional and intellectual perspectives. However, many have changed to fit this description and that is a big step in the right direction. Students should strive to continue being responsive to peers calling each other out and stay engaged in rigorous discussions, working to improve how the community handles difficult conversations.