-^-for posterity-^-

how do people think?

in english lit class we talk about themes. i’m always trying to have the students think critically. i want them to analyze the theme and decide what they believe and why.

the theme we worked with yesterday was, “if everyone believes something it’s not always right”, or something to that effect. it basically stated that, if the masses concur, they can be fallible. i thought it was a fairly simple theme and there wouldn’t be too much room for discussion.

the first three students who stood up said that they disagreed with the theme. at first it caught me off guard. they believed that the masses were always right. they didn’t have any facts to back up their argument even though i pushed them. the next group of students to stand up agreed with the theme and backed up their opinions with a wide variety of facts. “galileo believed the earth circled the sun and not the other way around. everyone else was wrong and galileo was right.” “people used to think the earth was flat but now we know it’s round. someone had to be the first person to believe it.” and so on.

i was surely shocked that some of the students did not agree with the theme. i tried to put myself in their shoes and argue their position but kept running into walls. this is a pretty good demonstration of how society here is changing. half of the students still adhere to the old tenants and the other half are moving in a different direction.

i find it all interesting.