CLASS DYNAMICS

I largely utilize a style of teaching called the Socratic Method.

“In more formal educational settings, the Socratic method is harnessed by teachers to ‘draw out’ knowledge from students. The teacher does not directly impart knowledge, but asks probing, thought-provoking questions to kickstart a dialogue between teacher and student, allowing students to formulate and justify answers for themselves.

‘The Socratic method uses questions to examine the values, principles, and beliefs of students. Through questioning, the participants strive first to identify and then to defend their moral intuitions about the world which undergird their ways of life. Socratic inquiry deals not with producing a recitation of facts... but demands rather that the participants account for themselves, their thoughts, actions, and beliefs... Socratic inquiry aims to reveal the motivations and assumptions upon which students lead their lives.’

As such, the Socratic method is at its most effective when applied to topics about which people hold deep convictions, such as questions on ethics, value, politics, and how to live.

After just a little probing on the foundations of our convictions on such topics, we learn that what may have appeared simple is in fact a very complicated issue mired in difficulty, uncertainty, and nuance — and that our initial convictions might be less justified than we first thought.

Students are not told ‘what’ to think, but shown ‘how’ to think by being supplied with thoughtful questions rather than straight answers.”  

[Source: https://philosophybreak.com/articles/socratic-method-what-is-it-how-can-you-use-it/]

Although this method is used in order to create a more interactive, student-centered classroom of learners, I appreciate that it is possible that certain topics have the potential to ‘trigger’ a student’s sensitivities to the degree that they may experience discomfort. In that event, students are given the discretion to excuse themselves from class to report to the nurse/counselor/office (without sanction).