Creating an open, non-threatening learning environment in which students are willing to take risks and ask questions is so important to the development of students at ABIS. When young people feel comfortable enough to speak their minds and inquire openly, great things can happen.
I had such a moment this week in Grade 9 History. Our current unit–the unification of the German states during the mid-1800s–is not one that typically generates a lot of excitement with students, but it is crucial for the understanding of later events, i.e. World War One and, later, the rise of Hitler and the Nazis.
We were speaking about this topic and the most important individual of the era, Otto Von Bismarck, when Andee asked, quite simply and yet quite profoundly, “Were his actions good or bad?”
I replied, “Well, he would say good, because it increased the power of his king.”
Andee: “Yes, but for history, was it good or bad?”
What Andee was grappling with–and what she expressed in a way that cut to the heart of so much of what we do in class–was the big picture. The meaning of it all. The roadmap. Where does this all lead and who decides? And who gets to say when a person’s actions are “good” or “bad”?
She’s provided us with an excellent talking point, one that we can return to over and over.
Andee and the rest of the class will indeed be able to decide for themselves if Bismarck’s actions were positive or negative later this year. They may all come to different conclusions, but, then again, that’s kind of the point.