Discussion in a Democratic Society

I loved reading this article because this is exactly what my master teacher teaches the students. She introduced the activity called Fishbowl. It is very similar to a Socratic Seminar. The students would receive a text to analyze and a guiding question at the beginning of the week. They would read the article and decide whether or not it agreed with the guiding question. They would have to make an argument and support it with textual evidence. The goal of the Fishbowl was not to decide which stance was correct, but to get a deeper understanding of each other's opinions and how to make and support a claim. As the article states "...discussion imply a process of giving and taking, speaking and listening, describing and witnessing..." which are all concepts that we stress to the students. The point of a discussion is not to debate, although sometimes that's what it leads to, but to gather a deeper understanding of one another.

Whether it is called a discussion, conversation, or dialogue, it was always my favorite thing to do in a class. Like the teacher in the article, I get so excited to have my mind be changed by a point that someone has called attention to. I think one of the greatest things is going into a discussion thinking something else and having your mind be changed by the end of a discussion. I like hearing everyone's side of the story and everyone's opinions about the issue at hand. Sometimes I do more listening than speaking just because I am so engulfed in the conversations that were happening.

The article points out the goals and the concepts that we stress during Fishbowl: hospitality, participation, mindfulness, humility, mutuality, deliberation, appreciation, hope, and autonomy. We highly stress all of these to the children because they are what makes a great, appropriate discussion.
The greatest thing about having Fishbowls continually throughout the year is that we continue to see growth. Every time we have one, we see new voices emerge and such deep, higher level thinking that is amazing to see in a seventh grade class.

I love that the packet included fifteen benefits of  discussion. I could see myself using this list in the future and posting in my own classroom. Number 10 was starred on the list and I think that it is one of the most important, with or without the star. The teacher in the article said that he knew he didn't have to make connections for the students and that he was uncertain where the discussion was going and how he could stay on top of everything. I like that about discussion, that it is unpredictable.