NCTE Position Statement

Discussions about complex topics are an essential part of English language arts education. The following collection of published resources was created to help educators facilitate discussions and support intellectual freedom. Do you use a resource that’s not listed here? Suggest it here.

Web Resources for Discussing Complex Topics

• “Teaching in Times of Crisis” resource from Vanderbilt University: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/crisis/
• “Norms of Engagement” for having difficult conversations from CUNY: https://acert.commons.gc.cuny.edu/wp-content/blogs.dir/1786/files/2021/10/Norms-of-Engagement.pdf
• “Let’s Talk! Facilitating Critical Conversations with Students” from Learning for Justice: https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/publications/lets-talk
• “Teaching Current Events: Educator Guide” from Facing History & Ourselves: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-current-events-educator-guide
• “Educators’ Center” for deliberative discussions from the National Issues Forums: https://www.nifi.org/en/educators-center
• Everyday Advocacy: Shifting the Public Narrative in Literacy Education website: www.everydayadvocacy.org/home
• Educating for Civic Reasoning and Discourse by the National Academy of Education: https://naeducation.org/educating-for-civic-reasoning-and-discourse-report/
• “Fostering Civil Discourse: Difficult Classroom Conversations in a Diverse Democracy” by Facing History & Ourselves: https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/fostering-civil-discourse-difficult-classroom-conversations-diverse-democracy

Books & Articles on Discussing Complex Topics

• Igniting Social Action in the ELA Classroom: Inquiry as Disruption (2022) by Robyn Seglem & Sarah Bonner: https://www.tcpress.com/igniting-social-action-in-the-ela-classroom-9780807767542
• Controversy in the Classroom: The Democratic Power of Discussion (2009) by Diana Hess: https://www.routledge.com/Controversy-in-the-Classroom-The-Democratic-Power-of-Discussion/Hess/p/book/9780415962292
• The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education (2015) by Diana E. Hess & Paula McAvoy: https://www.routledge.com/The-Political-Classroom-Evidence-and-Ethics-in-Democratic-Education/Hess-McAvoy/p/book/9780415880992
• Not Light, but Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom (2018) by Matthew Kay: https://www.routledge.com/Not-Light-but-Fire-How-to-Lead-Meaningful-Race-Conversations-in-the-Classroom/Kay/p/book/9781625310989
• Beyond Conversations about Race: A Guide for Discussions With Students, Teachers, and Communities (2021) by Washington Collado, Sharroky Hollie, Rosa Isiah, Yvette Jackson, Anthony Muhammad, Douglas Reeves, & Kenneth C. Williams: https://www.solutiontree.com/beyond-conversations-about-race.html
• Design for Belonging: How to Build Inclusion and Collaboration in Your Communities (2022) by Susie Wise & Rose Jaffe: https://dschool.stanford.edu/book-collections/design-for-belonging
• Start Here, Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work in Your School Community (2021) by Liz Kleinrock: https://www.heinemann.com/products/e11864.aspx
• Get Free: Antibias Literacy Instruction for Stronger Readers, Writers, and Thinkers (2023) by Tricia Ebarvia https://us.corwin.com/books/get-free-285820
• Challenging Antisemitism: Lessons from Literacy Classrooms (2023) by Judith Chriqui Benchimol and Mara Lee Grayson: Challenging Antisemitism: Lessons from Literacy Classrooms – 9781475864847 (rowman.com)
• “Making Others’ Perspectives Present: Arguments That Listen” (2021) by Jennifer VanDerHeide, Erica Lee Beaton, & Alllison Wynhoff Olsen: https://publicationsncte.org/content/journals/10.58680/ej202131233#
• “Disrupting Complacency: Helping Students Find Their Voices through Inquiry, Literature, and Technology” (2016) by Robyn Seglem & Sarah Bonner: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2016.1226642
• Classroom Talk for Social Change: Critical Conversations in English Language Arts (2020) by Melissa Schieble, Amy Vetter, and Kahdeidra Monét Martin: https://www.tcpress.com/classroom-talk-for-social-change-9780807763483
• Quality Talk About Text: Discussion Practices for Talking and Thinking About Text (2021) by Ian A.G. Wilkinson, Kristin Bourdage, and Nell K Duke: https://www.heinemann.com/products/e08866.aspx

Resources Related to Censorship

• Resources from NCTE’s Intellectual Freedom Center: https://ncte.org/resources/ncte-intellectual-freedom-center/
• “Guidelines for Dealing With Censorship of Instructional Materials” from the NCTE Standing Committee Against Censorship (2018): https://ncte.org/statement/censorshipofnonprint/
• “There is No Apolitical Classroom: Resources for Teaching in These Times,” blog post from the NCTE Standing Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English (2017): https://ncte.org/blog/2017/08/there-is-no-apolitical-classroom-resources-for-teaching-in-these-times/

Suggestions for Additional Resources