This post might be in reaction to the guilt I am currently feeling for a recent re-tweet I sent out about President Trump. The guilt is not coming from the content of the re-tweet as it was just a string of videos of President Trump saying he is an “expert” on everything, but rather my contribution to the perpetuity of the current state of divisiveness in our country. (Notice I am not including the link to the video, though it was pretty funny.) Ironically, soon after retweeting, I opened up to chapter 8 of Penny Kittle & Kelly Gallaher’s 180 Days: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents and was reminded that it is not more arguing we need in this country, but rather more argument.
As you might have guessed, Chapter 8 of 180 Days is titled “Argument” and it argues that “Argument is the primary skill essential to our success as citizens, students, and workers” (Gallagher & Kittle, 2018, p. 189). This was a great reminder of the role schools play in our democracy. A long time ago, John Dewey pointed out that “The democratic road is a hard one to take. It is the road which places the greatest burden of responsibility upon the greatest number of human beings” (Dewey, 1939/1989, p. 100). More than ever we, as human beings, need to be able to present an argument which should include empathy, the ability to use credible evidence, and a moderate tone among other key points. Gallagher & Kittle do a great job with the details of how to build the skills necessary to form an argument, but I wanted to address the 30,000 foot view from the standpoint of nurturing our young people’s “roots” (argument skill building in this case) as well as for building a strong culture of thinking in our schools based on promoting argumentation.
One of the key points to my argument for the call to help young people to develop argument skills is that it is a skill set with high leverage, long endurance, and is needed not only within the walls of a classroom, but outside of school as well. We all should be able to base our point of view (argument) on reason, facts, and logic while at the same time understand that the purpose for an argument is different than the purpose for persuasion. When developing an argument, whether it is oral or written, there is a need to to research multiple perspectives. This step, by default, broadens our lens and helps us to “avoid the danger of a single story” as eloquently articulated by novelist Chimanada Adichie in her 2009 TedTalk. Researching multiple perspectives also helps to address any preconceived notions of your audience when taking part in a discussion or when sharing your argument in print and it comes in handy when trying to anticipate or refute potential counterarguments. Even as we present a strong argument it might not lead to acquiescence, but often “a good argument will elicit strong contrary opinions (Gallagher et.al., 2018, p.200). Remember the goal of an argument is not necessarily to persuade, the goal of an argument is to promote thinking. At the end of presenting an argument, persuasion could very well have occurred, but a successful argument allows the reader or listener to make their own connections and draw their own conclusions based on the information that the argument provides.
The power and value of being able to present an argument in schools should not be limited to the ELA classroom, but instead can be as ubiquitous as the situations in which we place our young people. In math class a young person can make one argument for why 6x8 = 48, while a second yet different argument could be made for the same equation. As an example, one young person might reason that 5 groups of 8 is 40 and if added to one more group of 8 it is 48. A second argument could be made that 6 groups of 6 is 36 and 2 more groups of 6 is 12 which means together 36 and 12 equal 48. The fact that there is only one answer should not limit the number of arguments that can be made, nor should the fact that an absolute answer does not necessarily exist. As an example, in science class the argument over the Theory of Evolution has been made for the last 100 years and still continues. However, when young people have the ability to develop an argument, they also develop the ability to listen to an argument. As a result, they can take the information presented to them in science class, make their own connections, and draw their own conclusions. The key is to be sure to utilize your skills of argumentation and harness your emotions. This brings me back to my guilt after re-tweeting that video of President Trump.
In our current political climate we tend to use our emotions to argue our point rather than develop an argument for our point and that can ultimately undermine a democracy. I am sure the importance to stop, think, develop an argument, and listen to an argument was the “burden of responsibility” to which Dewey alluded. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt reinforces the message for WHY, in our current political climate, we need to learn to develop the ability to form an argument rather than just jump to arguing. In his 2008 TedTalk titled “The Moral Roots of Liberals & Conservatives” Haidt shared research on the five moral values that form the basis of our political choice and he makes the argument for the importance of stepping outside of our “moral matrix” to understand who we are, promote cooperation, and find a healthy balance between contrasting views (all parts of a good argument). This is a message that can be shared with young people and is something we should nurture in schools. The ability to form an argument provides an avenue for our young people’s voice and passions to develop which will not only serve them well as an individual, but will also help to positively contribute to our democracy. This is why we need less arguing and more arguments...and less tweets.
References
Dewey, J. (1989). Freedom and culture. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus.
(Original work published 1939)
Gallagher, Kelly & Kittle, Penny (2018). 180 Days: Two Teachers and the Quest to
Engage and Empower Adolescents. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
