Speak of the Devil

A Teacher’s Guide to Teaching in an Atmosphere of Ideological Conformity

Common wisdom among teachers is that one ought never engage in a power struggle with a student. The moment you begin arguing, you’ve lost. You reduce your gravitas in the classroom and God help you if the kid has solid points as to why your authority should be questioned.

At this point, post-truth leftism is creeping into the classroom, largely because teachers have taken the above advice, which is related to classroom management, and applied it whole cloth to academic matters. When a child makes an authoritative statement on a sensitive topic, teachers will often nod and move on, neither wanting to encourage a discussion among students nor debate it herself with the kid. Far too many teachers have been reprimanded for engaging in this way; administrators claim it leads to feelings of “unsafety” among students, so teachers are doubly incentivized to minimize their commentary. At the same time, it should be obvious that many of the ideas promulgated by radical elements in our culture are quite harmful to children, disproportionately so to at-risk children. 

The cognitive dissonance a teacher must face when a student espouses, shall I say, racist and/or sexist anti-truth tripe which she dares not contradict, takes its toll and, I suspect, has  become one of the reasons so many teachers are considering leaving the profession altogether, even though the only thing teachers are publicly griping about openly is behavior. I worked in minority poor, low-performing schools for the majority of my career, and while I had some damn tough kids and zero administrative support when it came to classroom discipline,  behavior was never an issue. I suspect the fact that public school leadership sits on a throne of lies is the unstated beef for many teachers.

So, how do you cope in a post-objective reality school?

I’d be remiss and hypocritical if I didn’t point out that it’s my belief that a teacher does not have  the right to prioritize her own ideology over that of the parents who send their kids in, the taxpayers footing the bill for the schooling, or the children who sit before her. So, when a teacher is faced with a student who claims that police should be defunded, trans people are undergoing genocide, that whites owe reparations, that children of color need to recognize that systemic racism will drive their lives and limit their success, that all student debt should be forgiven, that minors can consent, etc., what can a teacher do?

Simple: question them. But before you do, I want you to go to the devil. On Amazon, there are multiple headbands or snapback caps with devil’s horns on them. When a student makes a statement which you, the authority, feel needs more nuanced discussion, go get your hat. Put it on. Then start asking questions. Yet NEVER argue the point.

Devil’s advocacy: An Example

Student: “Cops commit atrocities. We should get rid of them in favor of social workers who  can help someone struggling with addiction, mental illness, or the effects of systemic racism  before we throw them in the prison industrial complex.”

You: (Pull hat off clip on whiteboard. Make a show of putting it on.) You used the word  “atrocity”. Can you define that for me? 

Student: Well… I mean, cops commit many violent acts against people accused of crimes.

You: By many, do you mean that police interactions with suspected criminals are always violent?

Student: Well, no. I mean, not always. But there’s lots of police brutality.

You: What do you consider “Brutality”?  

Student: Well, they hit suspects with nightsticks and tase them. Sometimes they wrestle them on the ground or suffocate them like with George Floyd.

You: Is there any reason a police officer might have to use force against a suspect? 

This isn’t an easy process, and it will will take time out of class, but you’re sending two  messages here. (1) Unsubstantiated statements demonizing entire populations and/or blanket generalizations are intellectually dishonest arguments and must be challenged in the interest of  truth. (2) People who make sweeping generalizations often rely on poor framing of the argument and/or ambiguous terms that can and should be called into question.

Pull, don’t Push

These messages have enormous power. Students who may disagree with some of the sweeping statements common to adolescents and young adults but who also fear their peers’ censure will watch you fight like Bruce Lee; when your opponent pushes, you pull. They will see that this is a non-combative, but effective strategy.

Additionally, when the students you question get upset as you slowly undermine their poorly founded statements, you can stop and let them know that it’s your job as a teacher to support them in developing the intellectual skills and knowledge so that they become more effective problem-solvers for themselves and in their community. Encourage them to come in at lunch to talk through any answers they find to your questions, and keep asking questions. When they show you sources that you know are enormously biased, ask more questions about:

• Author’s choice of words 

• Where the funding for these articles comes from 

• The bandwagon effect 

• The importance of fitting in and the fear of being ostracized 

• How social media is driven by emotion-induced clicks and how that incentivizes content creators

Keep Your Door Open

Obviously, there’s no end to the kinds of questions you could ask; once you start practicing  this, I promise, you’ll get good. I probably don’t need to remind you, but I strongly recommend that for any discussion like this, you make sure your classroom door is wide open and, if possible, you move toward that open door. There is no expectation of privacy in a classroom, especially not if the door is open to the hall, so I also recommend that you get a small audio-only recording device and keep it on your keychain. While it won’t be admissible in a court of  law, it would be good for your personal records should someone accuse you of inappropriate behavior, but please check the law in your state. If it is illegal to record, jot down notes of what was said and by whom immediately after the student(s) depart, and include the date and time. I’m sad that this is required at this  point, but if your family depends on your paycheck and you’re tired of pretending lies are cool, you need to cover yourself.

Inhabit the Role

Back to the hat: the reason it’s so important is that it serves as a clear demarcation between you, the teacher, and you the individual with her own set of beliefs. Put the hat on whenever you hear a trope you recognize as not fully fleshed out in student minds, regardless of its associated ideology; I have done this with evangelical students and students who lean towards jingoism. The hat is a clear marker that you are playing a role, complete with a costume. If you can be a little theatrical with it, kids will find it hilarious and let me tell you, the hilarious teacher has powerful protection she never even sees.

What’s more, when you get called in front of an administrator, bring the hat. If he offers some iteration of the statement “This upset a student so stop doing it” start asking HIM questions. Let him know you’re asking for his expertise as an experienced “educator” and that you’re looking for guidance. Bring a notepad. Write down his EVERY WORD. And look REALLY interested. Again, no statements, only questions. Here are some questions for leadership:

• To what extent do you think I should correct fallacious arguments made in class if they center on social issues?

• How can I create a conflict-free environment in the classroom where I am encouraged to  discuss these issues as part of an overarching school equity push?

• Would you prefer I ask students not to share their beliefs? Can I quote you on this so they know I have your backing?  

• To what extent do you want me to challenge student beliefs?

• Would it be better if I avoid asking questions that help students make better arguments?

• Is there an approach other than Socratic dialogue that you’d prefer I use to combat poor thinking or point out areas of weak understanding? Could you come to class and demonstrate what that looks like? 

Make sure that as you leave, you thank him heartily for his help with your classroom practice.  

Solzhenitsyn admonished that we live not by lies. Who knew that a tiny nod to the Father of Lies via headwear in the classroom would help us all defend the truth?

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Follow Dissident Teacher on her Substack Educated and Free, and also on Twitter at @educatedandfree. The Dissident Teacher is an actual classroom teacher, and the stories shared by DT here are true. Ask any California kid in a PreK-12 California public school; he’ll tell you.