I'm so grateful for this comment Bill, thank you. Having started to post on these issues I'm sustained by knowing that people I respect find them worthwhile, even though others are critical.
Thank you. I am sharing also with my two young adult granddaughters. I am appalled at the unprofessional and unethical teaching approach recorded and inserted here. Uncomfortable about it being secretly done but understand given the threats expressed in the recording for those who did not accept the very confused ideology expressed. Can you clarify/ offer a little more of the background - without identifiers of course. After years struggling to teach complex topics using a mainly socratic approach I think this was the part of your article Tina which really encapsulated the danger of opinion presented as facts which broach no further inquiry. What's happening to critical thinking skills? ! I accept your major concern is around the youngest and most vulnerable and agree totally with it. Hopefully this will be a place where we can think how we might respond
Thank you for this, and apologies for the slow response. I share the discomfort about the secret recording, and I realize it's possible the teacher was set up and I don't have much background information, but even so, nothing justifies this kind of response. I've been in many challenging teaching situations - albeit with university students rather than adolescents - but even when baited I think it's important to be aware of the dynamics of power and control in teacher/student relationships, and I think this teacher abused her power in significant ways to close down a legitimate topic for debate. I agree re opinion being presented as fact, and yes, critical thinking skills are very important around these contested issues. Thank you so much for engaging.
Thank you for this. I'm not sure I fully understand what you're saying re contra-contrarian thinking, but yes, I also come from a generation when too many assumptions were made about what was best for young people.
But there's no avoiding the fact that in every society, parents will raise their children according to the conventions and mores of that society, and some will do so in more rigid ways than others. Social institutions to do with education and formation will contribute to this process.
I think the challenge is finding a healthy balance between encouraging children to expand their horizons and to accept that there are always risks involved in doing that, and providing the kind of boundaries and guidance they need as they go through the various stages of childhood and adolescence. Unconditional love is it seems to me the essential and sometimes challenging prerequisite.
I have four adult children and four grandchildren, and I have no quick solutions. But I do know that adolescence is a turbulent and difficult time, and it's also a time when young people are most vulnerable to peer pressure and experimental behaviour, especially when these are promoted by social media.
But these are complex issues, and there are no easy answers. It's the easy answers that most disturb me.
Thank you again for your engagement, and again I repeat that I find it very helpful to know who I'm in dialogue with.
I have no interest in being contrarian nor in being contra-contrarian. We are creatures endowed with a capacity to inform ourselves, engage in reasoned arguments, and come to different but equally valid conclusions or opinions on many issues. The kind of sweeping generalisations you offer are reductive and offer no space for the rich diversity of human lives, individually, communally and in many contexts, nor do they allow for dialogue across differences in our quest to live more peacefully and more creatively. I wonder if you're from the US, though I don't know. I think US society is today divided by the kind of oppositional/confrontational positions you describe.
You miss my point about drag. I have no problem with children watching men in drag as part of a theatrical or comic performance. I do have a problem when these men claim to be championing gay rights, or when their parodies of femininity are offered as resources for the sexual education of children. I don't think the Catholic Church has a problem with men in drag. Have you ever seen their clerical garb?
Brilliant article Tina - putting into clear expression complex issues. I hope to be able to share with my granddaughter
I'd feel so encouraged if you shared it and she felt able to engage. Than you Mags. x
Amazing blog. Your writing always manages to challenge inspire and make me think. Thank you 🙏
I'm so grateful for this comment Bill, thank you. Having started to post on these issues I'm sustained by knowing that people I respect find them worthwhile, even though others are critical.
I am really grateful for your thoughtful,
well researched, knowledgable writing
This is a complex subject and you approach it with compassion empathy and erudition
Thank you. I am sharing also with my two young adult granddaughters. I am appalled at the unprofessional and unethical teaching approach recorded and inserted here. Uncomfortable about it being secretly done but understand given the threats expressed in the recording for those who did not accept the very confused ideology expressed. Can you clarify/ offer a little more of the background - without identifiers of course. After years struggling to teach complex topics using a mainly socratic approach I think this was the part of your article Tina which really encapsulated the danger of opinion presented as facts which broach no further inquiry. What's happening to critical thinking skills? ! I accept your major concern is around the youngest and most vulnerable and agree totally with it. Hopefully this will be a place where we can think how we might respond
Thank you for this, and apologies for the slow response. I share the discomfort about the secret recording, and I realize it's possible the teacher was set up and I don't have much background information, but even so, nothing justifies this kind of response. I've been in many challenging teaching situations - albeit with university students rather than adolescents - but even when baited I think it's important to be aware of the dynamics of power and control in teacher/student relationships, and I think this teacher abused her power in significant ways to close down a legitimate topic for debate. I agree re opinion being presented as fact, and yes, critical thinking skills are very important around these contested issues. Thank you so much for engaging.
Thank you for this. I'm not sure I fully understand what you're saying re contra-contrarian thinking, but yes, I also come from a generation when too many assumptions were made about what was best for young people.
But there's no avoiding the fact that in every society, parents will raise their children according to the conventions and mores of that society, and some will do so in more rigid ways than others. Social institutions to do with education and formation will contribute to this process.
I think the challenge is finding a healthy balance between encouraging children to expand their horizons and to accept that there are always risks involved in doing that, and providing the kind of boundaries and guidance they need as they go through the various stages of childhood and adolescence. Unconditional love is it seems to me the essential and sometimes challenging prerequisite.
I have four adult children and four grandchildren, and I have no quick solutions. But I do know that adolescence is a turbulent and difficult time, and it's also a time when young people are most vulnerable to peer pressure and experimental behaviour, especially when these are promoted by social media.
But these are complex issues, and there are no easy answers. It's the easy answers that most disturb me.
Thank you again for your engagement, and again I repeat that I find it very helpful to know who I'm in dialogue with.
I have no interest in being contrarian nor in being contra-contrarian. We are creatures endowed with a capacity to inform ourselves, engage in reasoned arguments, and come to different but equally valid conclusions or opinions on many issues. The kind of sweeping generalisations you offer are reductive and offer no space for the rich diversity of human lives, individually, communally and in many contexts, nor do they allow for dialogue across differences in our quest to live more peacefully and more creatively. I wonder if you're from the US, though I don't know. I think US society is today divided by the kind of oppositional/confrontational positions you describe.
You miss my point about drag. I have no problem with children watching men in drag as part of a theatrical or comic performance. I do have a problem when these men claim to be championing gay rights, or when their parodies of femininity are offered as resources for the sexual education of children. I don't think the Catholic Church has a problem with men in drag. Have you ever seen their clerical garb?