Handling Controversial Issues in Schools Today
Dealing with controversial issues is probably one of the most challenging aspects of being a Christian teacher. This page deals with a number of important matters.
Click on the link to go the relevant section or read the whole page through:
Legal and Professional Responsibilities
A Christian Perspective on Controversial Issues
Some Principles for Dealing with Controversial Issues
Legal and Professional Responsibilities
A helpful definition of a controversial issue from the Crick Report, an influential report on Citizenship, is:
A controversial issue is an issue about which there is no fixed or universally held point of view. Such issues are those which commonly divide society and for which significant groups offer conflicting explanations and solutions. (Paragraph 10:2)
There are no cut and dried legal rulings on dealing with controversial issues. The two main stipulations are:
- teachers are not allowed to promote partisan political views
- teachers are expected to promote a balanced presentation of opposing views
These mean that you cannot set out to persuade pupils that your views on a controversial issue are the only ones worthy of consideration.
The key professional guideline is that schools should be inclusive. That means that pupils from all backgrounds should feel at home and have their views taken seriously. For example, if a child is looked after by two men in a civil partnership, he or she should not feel that they are being discriminated against during any teaching about family life. Another example would be Muslim pupils not feeling judged in discussions about terrorism.
The Nature of Schools Today
The reality is that schools reflect the nature of society in general. In Britain today Christianity doesn't really figure much in people's thinking. For many people, Christianity is at best irrelevant and at worst the cause of a lot of the evil in the world. If society in general is not Christian in nature, schools are not going to be either.
The nature of modern society is complex. The Catholic Education Service has published a detailed report for teachers which argues that Catholic teachers need to espouse a very different view of life from the general consensus of society. Likewise the Church of England published a general report, not specifically for teachers, which came to similar conclusions. In both cases the conclusion was that society today is no longer shaped, if it actually ever was, by Christian ways of thinking.
One thing that all teachers have to learn to live with is that schools will have pupils and staff from many different religious and non-religious backgrounds. You will work with Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Pagans, Humanists and Atheists, to name but a few. The big question for schools is how to handle the, sometimes passionate, differences of opinion that there will be over controversial issues.
A Christian Perspective on Controversial Issues
Put simply, the question for Christians (and other people who are convinced of the truth of an issue) is 'surely something that is true ought to be taught as true?' For example, the statement Jesus is the Son of God is true, so should it not be taught as true? The nub of the problem is whether following the required balanced approach to controversial issues is to promote relativism - i.e. it is to tell pupils that truth is a personal thing and not something objective.
- I tell my students there are no right or wrong answers (relativism)
- I tell my students that there is disagreement as to the right or wrong answers (balanced)
Jesus told his disciples they should follow the Golden Rule (Mathew 7:12) of treating others as they would like to be treated. Ask yourself this question. If I had children of my own being taught by an atheist teacher who is convinced that Jesus is nothing more than a moral teacher, how would I like that teacher to behave? Personally I would want him to treat what my children were taught at home with respect. I wouldn't mind him telling my children what he believed, but I would expect him to give a balanced and respectful presentation of the Christian view. If that is what I expect, should I not accord the same respect to pupils from non-Christian backgrounds?
A Case Study
Creationism is the belief that God literally created the world in six days as described in Genesis. The media have made much of the allegation that some Christian schools teach creationism in science lessons and that one GCSE Board considered including creationism in its science syllabus. The opposing views are:
- Creationism is not science. Evolution is an established theory which is beyond all reasonable doubt. To include creationism in science lessons is like teaching that the earth is flat.
- There is a significant minority of people in Britain who believe in creationism, some of whom are well qualified scientists with PhDs in biology. In some parts of the world, e.g. the USA, significant numbers of people believe it to be true. It is therefore a controversial issue and should be treated with due respect as a minority position in science.
What do you think?
Some Models to Follow
Here are three possible models for the teacher to follow when teaching a lesson on a controversial issue:
- The Neutral Chair where the teacher deliberately sets out to remain objective and facilitate the study of several different viewpoints.
- The Devil's Advocate where the teacher deliberately argues for a view different from their own to stimulate the pupils interest.
- The Committed Participant where the teacher reveals their own point of view, with a view to inviting challenge and debate and raising awareness of the different viewpoints on an issue.
All of these may be appropriate stances in different lessons, depending on the aim and purpose of the discussion. The overriding principle is that your teaching should not be biased towards persuading pupils to accept your point of view. It is not appropriate to behave as though you are on the sales team for Christianity!
When it comes to your overall stance as a teacher there are two possible viewpoints.
- The teacher's personal beliefs are irrelevant and the teacher should not be overly concerned with introducing them into the lesson.
- Every teacher is committed in some way and that commitment is an important teaching resource.
Transforming Lives recommends the second approach because the beliefs that we hold make us what we are. Teachers should be helping their pupils to reflect on the shaping role that beliefs play in life. One way of doing that is to model such reflection by being prepared to talk about our own beliefs, to make clear that there are contrary views and to be able to debate the issue in an open fashion. Many pupils are frustrated by teachers who will not tell them what they think about a controversial issue. This seems to imply that the issue isn't important enough for them to have a view.
The analogy below may help by providing a model for how Christian teachers should behave.
Medicine is a very controversial area. What should a doctor do if she knows that the treatment of a disease is controversial because leading specialists disagree? One possibility is that she simply tells the patient what her opinion is and ignores the other specialists' views, or even rubbishes them. But this is to show no respect for the patient; it is their body after all. Another possibility is for the doctor to tell the patient all the treatments and let them choose. But if the doctor is convinced one treatment is best, is it not being callous to hide that from the patient? Surely the right way is for the doctor to ensure the patient understands the different forms of treatment and the controversy surrounding them, whilst also making her own position known? Then the patient has a genuine opportunity to make their own decision.
Here the key to a professional balanced approach is to ensure that, over time, pupils understand that you are committed to certain beliefs but that you are also aware your views are controversial and ensure that pupils properly understand contrary views.
Remember that as a teacher you are in a position of influence over your pupils. That is part of the job. But, as Jesus did, you must be a responsible influence, respecting their background and encouraging them to make their own informed decisions in life.
Some Principles for Dealing with Controversial Issues
When dealing with controversial issues
- Use owning and grounding language, such as 'Christians believe...' or 'As a Baptist I believe...'.
- Encourage differences of belief to be expressed and treat them with respect.
- Introduce pupils to people with differing views.
- Encourage pupils in their own beliefs and identity.
- Operate in 'sharing mode' rather than 'telling mode'. It is surprising how different these feel when you are on the receiving end!
- Never imply that it is stupid to disagree with you.
- Teach pupils how to listen carefully to each other.
- Teach pupils how to disagree in a respectful and courteous manner which doesn't deny the strength and importance of the beliefs involved.
Some Resources
The Citizenship Foundation has produced a helpful paper, although taking a slightly different position from Transforming Lives on the teacher's personal beliefs.
Channel 4 have produced a video and comprehensive programme notes giving plenty to think about.
Trevor Cooling's chapter on "Commitment and Indoctrination" in Issues in Religious Education, edited by Lynne Broadbent and Alan Brown and published by Routledge Falmer in 2002 looks at how each teacher tells a story through their life which influences their pupils.
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