Positive Controversy

Too often classroom management techniques are focused on avoiding conflict altogether.  But academic controversy can be a powerful learning tool. According to Dr. David Johnson, “Conflict is normal,” and can be an enjoyable impetus for research (Laureate, 2008). Academic controversy has the value of authenticity because people are competitive and curious by nature, and when they disagree on an issue, they naturally want to prove their point.

For example, when my wife’s parents returned from a trip to China, they told me that they had learned that some Chinese companies were making soy sauce from human hair. I thought this story implausible and hoped to prove my point with research. Upon investigation, though, I learned that the story is fairly well corroborated.

I may not have won the argument, but I gained interesting and potentially useful knowledge. Giving students the training and opportunity to engage in authentic academic controversy can help them not only to learn and apply research, writing, and rhetorical skills, but to improve their ability to effectively resolve all sorts of conflicts in their daily lives.

Academic controversy is a natural part of the secondary English curriculum, and weblogs are a perfect environment for cultivating positive controversy.  Unfortunately, many in the public school system are so afraid of controversy, they prefer to blind and silence their students by preventing access to most Web 2.0 (Read/Write Web) applications. 
REFERENCES
Atwan, R. (2007). America now: Short readings from recent periodicals. New York: Bedford/Saint Martins.

Johnson, D. W. (1995). Reducing school violence through conflict resolution. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008). Classroom Management to Promote Student Learning . Baltimore: Author.

Maryland State Department of Education (2008). School improvement in Maryland. Baltimore: Author. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/reading/clg_toolkit.html