How do we talk about issues that matter?

    Talking about issues can be an incredibly difficult concept to do but pushing these issues away can cause a lot of damage to not only the students but also the teachers. This is because as teachers, challenging conversations are inevitable and it is your job to provide empathy and be a shoulder to lean on for the student. 

To begin talking about the issue, I feel that having a comfortable environment for the students is crucial in the first step of addressing the topics. Letting students know that they can come to you gives them a feeling of comfort in some situations and lets opening up to you way easier. Being able to communicate about these issues is also very important. In the article, “A letter to the students of color who were in my History classes”, the author Dylan Way talks about his experience of not addressing the underlying issues in his classroom. Way would never acknowledge the different races in his class which led to him having unconscious biases because he found that talking about the differences between him as a white male and the minority of students in his classroom made him uncomfortable. 

Not opening up about the issues in the classroom can cause such a negative space and limit your students voices which makes them feel unwanted or seen by their own teachers. No matter what way you decide to talk about these issues amongst your students, taking the initiative to do so can go a long way and I believe finding your own way to deal with them is what will work best. The thing that matters most is to make your students feel like they belong and opening up about their issues can make sure they feel this way.