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Approaching Discussions through the Four Points
Approaching Discussions through the Four Points
Structuring conversations on sensitive topics can be difficult for many reasons. One thing that can be particularly challenging is managing the different needs of students in these conversations, and the different ways they want to talk about the issue. An approach that can be helpful in addressing this involves focusing the conversation around four entry points.
Adapted from Glenn Singleton’s Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools, 2nd Edition (2015).
The Four Points are:
Feeling: Some students might find that their primary response to an event or to a discussion of a sensitive topic is emotional- it makes them feel angry, or sad, or frustrated. Some events could provoke a range of emotions, from joy to sadness to confusion to anger.
Thinking: Other students might respond to an event or to a discussion of a sensitive topic with a desire to understand why and how that event happened. They might start by asking questions and trying to figure out how to further study the topic.
Believing: Other students may focus on how an event or a discussion of a sensitive topic relates to their values and beliefs. They may engage by naming something that happened as morally right or morally wrong, by pointing to the event as evidence that backs up something they believe, or by articulating how the event raises doubts or questions about something they previously believed to be true.
Acting: Other students may feel the need to take action in some way in order to respond to an event or a discussion of a sensitive topic. They may engage by trying to figure out what can be done to address the issue at hand, and making a plan to take action.
Why introducing these four points can be helpful for students:
It can help them recognize and validate their own reactions, while also understanding that other students may be coming into a conversation from a different place and that other reactions are also valid.
It can help students to consciously reflect on why they might be responding the way they are, and give them the opportunity to consider other ways they might engage with a topic.
It requires them to pause, slow down, and recognize their thinking and reactions, and the importance of doing so.
Broad Guidelines for Structuring Discussion in the Classroom
Broad Guidelines for Structuring Discussion in the Classroom
Once students have been introduced to the four points, they can be used to guide engagement with a range of events and topics.
One place to start can be giving students the opportunity to process independently, allowing them to pick one or more entry points for reflection. The handout below can be used for this purpose.
Students may then want to form small groups to discuss their responses, potentially with people who are approaching the issue from a similar point. Some students may also appreciate additional time to research, journal, or action plan independently.
Alternatively, you may want to have a whole class discussion that moves through each of the points, giving all students an opportunity to share their own reactions and also hear how others are responding. The routine below suggests a series of prompts you could use to process a current event.
Current Events Check-in Routine
Current Events Check-in Routine
First, how do we feel? What are our immediate reactions to what just happened?
Second, what happened? Why did this happen? What is the bigger picture that this news story points to? What are the different perspectives involved in that bigger picture issue?
Third, after learning more about what happened, how does this event line up with what we believe or challenge us to think differently about ourselves, our community, our country, or the world?
Fourth, upon reflection, what do we think needs to be done? What actions should we take as individuals, as a community, and as a country?
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