Purpose Statement
This technique attempts
to foster critical thinking within a friendly, encouraging setting that
respects everyone's right to disagree.
Description of Activity
This is a small
technique I use that I believe improves students' classroom etiquette. It
consists of a simple rule for the class that I offer as soon as we begin our
class discussions: "In this class we agree to disagree, agreeably".
That is, everyone should feel free to disagree with anything anyone else
(including me) says - but in an agreeable way. It works! I encourage the
students to speak up (always by raising a hand first, and waiting to be called
upon by me, in order to avoid verbal chaos and domination of the discussion by
the loudest and most aggressive) whenever they hear something they don't agree
with. To encourage this, I sometimes lie - and expect the students to catch me
at it and call me on it. Woe unto them if they let me get away with a lie! (I
never let the lie stand unchallenged.) Of course in a wide-ranging discussion
with 120 students, there is frequent disagreement, and sometimes the arguing
gets hot and heavy, continuing out into the hall after the end of class. That's
when I feel I've earned my money for the day!
this web page was created
on 3/22/2000 at 10:55:35 AM
and modified on 3/22/2000 at 10:55:35 AM