I have two classes with 12th graders. They are both Public Speaking classes, where we focus on persuasion, presentation, logic and rhetoric. All the tools that people have used to not only to get you to change your mind, but also to get you to buy stuff you don’t need.
I begin the year by having students watch short speeches, presentations, interviews, and debates. I intentionally show them presenters who hold unorthodox and / or unpopular opinions. I routinely prepare to get an earful from angry teenagers.
You know what? It never happens.
The young adults in class actually like it.
They hear all the same ‘Officially Approved Opinions’ all the time. For them, hearing an original or unpopular point is like a breath of fresh air.
Here’s the difference between teenagers and most adults. The teenagers don’t get overly emotional about it. They listen, process, then state their thoughts and feelings. The adults, however, with whom I’ve shared unpopular opinions with usually call me a conspiracy theorist, or they get emotional (usually angry) about having such opinions and thoughts. When introduced to something ‘out of the box’, adults go crazy, and the teens don’t.
You’d think it would be the other way around.
I find this fascinating.
I don’t know why older people are so doctrinaire about these things. The 12thgraders I saw today were open and discursive about a topic that would get you ANGRY. (You don’t want to know what I showed them).
The important thing to stress with our young adults is to hold onto that trait. To be able to consider things you don’t like, or be able to consider opinions you don’t hold is a fading skill.
We will be doing this kind of thing all year period 3 and period 7. I’ll keep you posted as to how it goes, and all the off-limits ground we cover.
Sincerely,
Douglas Marolla
Room 227 – MVHS English
https://thefreelanceteacher.teachable.com/
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