ABSTRACT
Even when falling short of hate speech, students’ speech can deeply wound other students. The presence of words that wound (WtW) in the classroom can threaten equal educational opportunity and reinforce negative social identities. So, should teachers respond by silencing such speech, or is it better to initiate a discussion of its content?
Clearly our answer will depend on the specific situation. I take up Callan’s (2011) distinction between “easy” cases, where it is relatively uncontroversial that teachers should silence, and “hard” cases, where it is more difficult to agree on the appropriate response. I offer a number of arguments in support of discussion over silencing in hard cases. For example, I argue that using the authority of the teacher to silence has little educational value, since it models a response that is usually unavailable when WtW are encountered outside the classroom. Additionally, teaching the practical wisdom of treading the fine line between candor and incivility can be viewed as an important preparation for civic life, where students will need to engage with those with whom they disagree.
An objector may say that these kinds of arguments require unwarranted optimism about the power of discussion. In response to this objection, Callan argues that discussion is the best way to blunt the potentially adverse effects of WtW once they have occurred. But this response is incomplete, for teachers can easily set up lesson activities so as to minimize the chances of WtW being voiced at all. To be able to defend discussion in these “harder” cases, more argument is required than Callan gives, and I sketch what this additional argument would look like.
Since I allow that in easy cases, it is right to silence WtW, there arises a challenge to explain the basis on which teachers are to make the decision on when to silence. A four-part test is offered in response to this challenge and exemplified through examples from past classroom experiences. This test sharpens Callan’s distinction between cases where we should and should not silence, as well as providing guidance on when it is right for teachers to steer discussion towards a particular outcome.
