Life Skills
Agree to Disagree: Discussion & Debate for Teens Who Love Expressing Their Ideas
This ongoing discussion and debate class provides a guided, moderated space for teens who love to think about, discuss & debate tough questions and statements while developing their abilities to present, defend, argue, and persuade others
12-17
year old learners
3-6
learners per class
$16
Charged weekly
Meets 1x per week
Runs week after week
25 minutes per class
Cancel anytime
Available times
Pacific
Description
Class Experience
This class is meant to provide teen learners with a friendly, respectful environment in which to explore and discuss their ideas and opinions on difficult questions and claims with a group of peers and the instructor. The teacher's role is to pose questions and claims, initiate discussion, play 'devil's advocate' to increase engagement and thought levels, and maintain focus on the topic at hand. Learners will be given a question or claim to consider before each class so that they have time...
As the class progresses learners can expect to: -Develop and strengthen their ability to present, discuss, and argue their opinion with peers -Increase their ability to listen carefully and critically to others -Develop the patience, willingness, and respect to allow others to speak before responding -Build their capacity to research and understand a claim, statement, or question in order to provide intelligent, thoughtful responses -Formulate their thoughts and ideas into cohesive arguments which attempt to persuade others -Develop increased levels of understanding, empathy, compassion, and self-control by continually engaging with various viewpoints and perspectives
I have taught English Language Arts and ESL at the middle and high school levels for nearly 15 years. I hold a BA in English Language and Literature and an MA in ESL with a focus on theoretical and applied linguistics. Prior to my full-time work with students online I have served as an instructional coach, reading interventionist, building administrator and Secondary English Specialist for a large school district. I hold an active teaching license as well as a principal's license. My areas of expertise are English Language Arts (reading, writing, speaking), American and Historical Literature, Social and Emotional Learning, Philosophy, Essay and Fiction Writing and Self-Improvement.
Learners will be given a question or statement to consider, research, and formulate a response to prior to each class. They can expect to spend 10-30 minutes working independently outside of class to prepare for the week's discussion and debate.
Pencils or pens Notebook
25 minutes per week in class, and an estimated 0 - 1 hours per week outside of class.
Questions and statements used as the foundation for each week's class will be taken from a wide variety of sources including news media, books, lists, philosophy, and from teacher-created prompts
Teacher
Mark Slack, MAUnique Learning with Teacher Mark: Unique Classes for Unique Minds
🇺🇸
Lives in the
United States20 total reviews
32 completed classes
About Me
Hello! Thank you for the opportunity to share some information about my courses, background and educational values. I am a certified teacher with 15 years experience instructing students in middle school, high school, and adult ELL programs. I...
