Teaching for Democracy Under Political Threats

• In Event: Teaching Democracy Now

Abstract

Educators’ urge to avoid risk in a toxic political environment is understandable; however, the stakes for students and society are immeasurable. Instead of avoiding conflict, we provide a framework for teaching controversial issues and topics that generate competing views, often arousing discomfort and other emotional reactions. It is based on a general approach called contained risk-taking (Pace, 2019, 2021a, 2021b) in which educators take risks to engage students in controversy while using strategies to manage those risks. The framework has been used by K-12 teachers, school leaders, and teacher educators in the United States and abroad. It guides educators in designing and enacting civil discourse about important political questions, as well as teaching honest history that grapples with the experiences of groups excluded from democracy. Framework elements provide strategies for eight dimensions of classroom teaching such as creating a supportive classroom environment, addressing emotions, and proactively communicating with stakeholders. We will show how the framework shores up professional agency and authority, two fundamental elements of teaching that have been undermined by political attacks on education. And we discuss the crucial role of school leaders in supporting teachers.

Authors

• Judy L. Pace, University of San Francisco

• Wayne Journell, University of North Carolina - Greensboro