Tomar postura/Take a stance

One of the goals of Philosophy for Children is to encourage students to take a stance on an issue and defend it. Even as an adult, I find that intimidating. Perhaps it is how some teachers feel about math. I am not intimidated by exponents or division of fractions, but I am intimidated by the prospect of stance-taking.

When I went to college, I was warned that many of my classmates would come from wealthier, more highly-educated backgrounds. Where I noticed this most was the ease with which friends would debate about politics. I noticed the same thing traveling in Europe – the regular ritual of exploring current events, and not just echoing news reports or affirming the opinions of the other people at the table, but rather suggesting alternate opinions and defending them. I have never felt very comfortable formulating my own opinions on current events. I tend to reference NPR stories or NY Times articles or a thoughtful commentary from my roommate.

I don’t even feel comfortable forming opinions about less weighty subjects. To this day I feel anxious when someone asks me my taste in music. I tend to like books or movies best when they have been recommended to me by people whose opinions I value. In 2014, one of my New Year’s resolutions was independent thought. I have made some progress, but it hasn’t been easy.

So what does this have to do with oral language development? Quite a bit, I think. The oral language standards here in Mexico (and in the states) make little reference to language conventions – correct verb conjugations or use of adverbs. The standards require children to (among other things):

·         Emplea su conocimiento sobre un tema para tomar decisiones y expresar su opinión fundamentada. Employ knowledge about a subject to make decisions and express their substantiated opinions.

·         Escucha y aporta sus ideas de manera crítica. Listen and contribute ideas in a critical manner.

·         Identifica diferentes formas de criticar de manera constructiva y responder a la crítica. Identify different ways to provide constructive criticism and respond to criticism.

These standards are about articulating thinking and opinions. They are about taking a stance and defending it.

For a glimpse at philosophy class and a little bit of stance-taking, see the post below.