Emily Mandev/staff reporter
Bullying and harassment have been present since before anybody can remember, but with newer advancements in psychology, it has been a bit easier to contain. This however does not mean that everybody in the world knows how to respect others properly. A classroom is a place where a student should feel comfortable stating their opinions or sharing their stories to provide a better understanding of their views. In certain cases, however, many students have come out and told their stories about how they were mistreated in a classroom environment. In newer years teachers have been informed to teach their students about how to avoid situations like these, yet these measures have not been as effective as some people had hoped.
When in a classroom, there will most likely be class discussions and people may want to participate in them, which should be an indicator that they will treat the other speakers with respect and to listen to their opinions instead of just talking over them to drown out whatever they’re saying. If the student is incapable of respecting others in a classroom then they should have more severe consequence than just being told to be quiet and not to disrupt others. There is a massive difference between having a respectful debate with someone whilst being able to listen and understand the opposing side weather or not you agree with them, and promoting hate speech to get a rise out of people because they either think its humorous or they genuinely just lack empathy.
Some very sensitive topics that should be more regulated in class discussions include political views and morals, religion, gender and or sexuality and so much more. The people who decide to be hateful and share these extremely radical opinions are also more prone to not paying attention to what the other speaker is trying to explain to them. It is always important for people to be able to feel safe in their own space but if the people who are promoting hate speech keep acting up and behaving this immaturely in serious situations then there should be a lot more focus on mental health counselling for both the people who are victimized as well as for the people who are invoking these emotions upon people.
sources:
teaching toolkits UCL Arena Centre
From terrorism to mental health: 5 top tips on addressing sensitive issues in the classroom By Chloe Bell
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