Argue is Such an Ugly Word

"Mr. Feicht, do we get to argue today?" When students greet you at the door already excited about engaging with content in a deep thought provoking way, I don't care if ARGUE is an ugly word. When my wife found out what I had decided to name my blog, she politely tried to convince me that argue might bring some negative connotations. I originally started with a less offensive word. I had thought about debate or defend. But I couldn't shake the memory of being greeted at the classroom door by eager students asking, "Do we get to argue today?" So I agreed to add a tagline to the title: Because Students Like Contrary and Teachers Like Learning. There. At least I acknowledged the ugliness of an argument. Let's be honest though, I have a 1 1/2 year old and 3 year old. If I say it should be one way I'm sure to get a contrary opinion. I started out teaching middle school and then spent 7 more years teaching 5th grade. All that experience has shown me is that my kids are not going to change much between now and middle school. They're just going to be able to express their contrary opinions in a more articulate manner. If you don't like the word argue because it has a negative connotation, then they love it. The most important part of teaching is not the content. The most important part of teaching is understanding kids.

If I hadn't planned an "argument" for the students that day, then I certainly would have found a way to fit one into my lesson somehow. However, I typically try to plan arguments (which are really more of debates) into my lessons. In addition to the fact that students love ARGUING, the strategy helps students brains actively engage. If students are passively receiving information they will not retain as much information. This is particularly true in social studies. Look at the chart below and take note of the vast amount of new vocabulary students are trying to take in when they are learning social studies.

This statistic often leads to the drudgery that most people often associate with past social studies classes. Teacher's are tasked with trying to convey so much information and so many new terms that social studies classes often resort to trying to memorize study guide after study guide of names and dates. This approach leads to low retention of content because it is memorized for short term use on a test. It also leads to negative feelings toward the subject area as a whole.  The result is almost funny, if these weren't real college students.

That brings us back to the word ARGUE. When social studies events and concepts are playing out in real life they are charged events. They are also filled with conflict. Every story has two sides and both sides generally invoke incredible passion. I look back to my first year teaching 5th grade. That year I was learning material right along with the kids. Sure I taught about the New Deal, but for the most part the kids memorized a bunch of programs like the CCC, TVA and WPA started by FDR. We missed the greater concept which would bring lasting understanding. ARGUMENT. Now as I look at this standard it becomes clear that the New Deal is the foundation of one of the greatest debates still occurring in politics today. One side says the government should be doing more to help the people and the other side is arguing that the government needs to leave things alone. Listen to any of the raving lunatics running for president on the Republican or Democratic side and you will here this theme passionately reiterated.

So how does ARGUMENT help this situation. In every historical setting there is conflict (and for that matter government and economics concepts are also steeped in conflict). If you find the conflict you can draw the students into an ARGUMENT. If you can effectively do this, two things happen. First students brains engage at a much higher level, as they are thinking critically about things that are being said, so that they can make counter arguments. Secondly, students will begin to use key vocabulary terms in context as they ARGUE. An average student needs to hear, say, read or write a word in context about 20 times in order for it to be committed to long term memory. Arguments or debates about topics quickly fill the quota for hearing these words in context, helping students understand the "big picture" but also helping them master the plethora of new vocabulary.

Find conflict in each historical event or concept and let the kids ARGUE, because students like contrary and teachers like learning!