This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A student is tasked with writing a persuasive speech about whether women's sports should receive coverage equal to that of men's sports. As their teacher, it's my role to give them feedback about how to strengthen their arguments.
I suggest they might want to respectfully acknowledge the opposing viewpoint. There is nothing in the assessment criteria that requires genuine engagement with a difference of opinion. So, why should students try to be more conciliatory in presenting a point of view?
This question formed the basis of my research into how we can teach students to listen, not just argue. Our secondary students aren't entering a society that models respectful engagement with difference. The Strengthening Democracy Taskforce report by Australia's Albanese government identified a "worrying trend" of Australia being on "a path to polarization." The annual Edelman Trust Survey found that more than three-quarters of Australians would refuse to help someone who strongly disagrees with their views.
In her book Bright Shining: How Grace Changes Everything, award-winning journalist Julia Baird writes: "The silos in which we consume information dot the media landscape like skyscrapers, and the growing distrust of the press, politicians and public figures has in some ways choked our ability to cut each other slack." Education is crucial in turning this around. Persuasion plays a prominent role in the English curriculum. In Australia's annual NAPLAN (National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy) test, students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are required to write either a persuasive (opinion) or narrative (story) text.
These persuasive writing tests ask students to "write your opinion on the topic" to convince readers to agree with their viewpoint. Research into NAPLAN has found that narrative writing receives the most attention in the early years of school, but the focus shifts increasingly toward persuasive writing as students progress. By Year 10, more than two-thirds of English-related tasks involve developing persuasive language skills.
This emphasis continues in Years 11 and 12 VCE English, where my research shows that between one-third and two-thirds of the curriculum teaches young people to assert their own opinions. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. But it is not the only skill young people need to develop.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
