This weekend, my good friend and fellow Edunerd Eric Twadell asked a really interesting question: In an increasingly divided world, how should teachers handle controversial topics that come up in their curriculum or in their conversations with students.

My response — which is inspired by this recent article on the Mindshift KQED blog — is simple: We need to teach students the difference between being political and being partisan.

Check it out:

So what’s your take on all of this?

Has it become harder to handle controversial topics in the classroom? What steps do you take to make those conversations more approachable? Have you ever avoided a conversation completely because you felt it was too controversial?

These are all questions worth wrestling with in an increasingly divided world.

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