While I was introducing mythology to my sixth graders and outlining a few of our possible directions with our learning, I was overwhelmed by their
shouted response to my question about their beliefs regarding mythological creatures. I asked for a show of hands regarding who believed that things like dragons, fairies, vampires, cyclops and satyrs truly, factually existed. I repeat, they
shouted emphatically at me to the point where I had to stop teaching. I also believe I heard the old, "There are TV shows about Big Foot, Ms. H.!!"
Keep in mind that I didn't express any doubt or vocalize my own thinking at this point. The strength they summoned to shout me down tells me they've got some experience defending their beliefs. They were ready.
So wait...did I just spoil Santa for some of them?
There was method to my lesson: I was
trying to preempt the need for students to interrupt our read alouds from
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths at the part where the sons and daughters of Gaea and Uranus marry one another, and then Uranus swallows his children whole to prevent them from overthrowing him. I was going to talk about the ability readers and thinkers have to
suspend disbelief. I thought that this idea would hold some value to them in developing themselves as critical thinkers.
I was also going to follow up with the idea that while we might be skeptical as to the realism in a story or myth, there are important reasons for knowing these classic tales and experiencing them--important elements that draw us toward storytelling in the first place.
But there I was, unable to get a word in while cries of, "Sasquatch walks!" and "Dragons could have existed with a special mineral that catches fire!" lit up the learning space.
It had turned from civilized listening into a mob scene. I stopped teaching because regardless of where any one individual falls on the belief-skeptic scale, it's still unacceptable to browbeat any individual with one's opinion either way.
This lesson needed to be taught.
I calmly removed myself from the front of the classroom, and began quietly organizing materials. The students' cries and shouts eventually died down and they began to ask me timidly to continue. I told them that I was unable to do so because the lesson had been interrupted in the way that it had. I said they would need to come in at lunch to hear what was planned.
And you know what? Every one of them did. They sat. They listened to me explain what I needed them to do with suspending disbelief. They heard me say that because they were so "impassioned" about the topic, that we would explore these issues further. (Read: I need to study up on best practices in addressing pseudoscience vs. science topics.)
It's a slippery slope. We're talking about things people hold dear. We're wading into belief vs. fact.
What do you think? Should we keep going? What do my students deserve in these times?
