On the previous sub-page, you learned about facts vs. opinions.  (If you haven't read that yet, please do so now.)  As stated there, college courses aren't really about opinions.  However, since the nature of the subjects that I teach gets into areas in which people do have such strong opinions, it's something we really have to be constantly aware of.

 

When we share our ideas about controversial topics, we need to try to handle them with the professional methods that we're taught, but we also just need to remember our human civility.  Let's look at both parts of that sentence:

• Being civil:  it's okay to disagree, but not to be disagreeable.  I'm never going to grade you on your opinion itself, but being inappropriate, rude, etc., could affect your behavior/participation points.  We want this to remain a good learning environment where everyone feels free to share and is not punished for doing so.

• Being professional:  when developing your ideas on any subject, you need to be dealing with accurate data and have a good handle on the concepts of the course.  Don't just "spout off."  Rather, use the concepts and methods you've learned in the course.

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I will present you with the best data I know about the topics we cover.  Unless you're assigned research on a topic, you don't need to add to what I present.  However, if you know of additional information from an authoritative, scholarly source, please feel free to share it.  (That might even earn you some extra credit on participation.)

 

What I don't want to see is someone rudely telling me or anyone else in the course that their/my information is wrong.  That is, even corrections should be civil (and scholarly).  If you know of something factual that adds to or contradicts what has been said, bring it up politely and make sure it's authoritative and unbiased.  Let me give you an example of a student who handled this well, and a student who handled this poorly in real situations involving material that I lectured on.

• Right way:  After carefully reading some material that I presented, an online student posted on a discussion board, "I thought that [a particular situation] was dealt with when they passed [a certain law]."  I looked up the law she mentioned, and she was right.  My lecture needed updated and I was really grateful for her information.

• Wrong way:  After reading some material that I presented on a controversial issue, an online student posted on a discussion board, "I think Dr. Rhoades has overstated [issue X]."  The student offered no proof of this opinion, and the remainder of his post was rather insulting.  When I posted with a few factual items from recent news (including a court case that had been decided the day before) which backed up my information, he felt attacked and proceeded from there to make trouble for me!  This situation was entirely avoidable.  Instead of "I think" and then insulting remarks, he should have dealt with specific data or phrased his concern as a non-threatening question.  And when I provided the further evidence, he should have accepted it as evidence, not as attack.  This student demonstrated that he was more interested in defending his opinion and personal experience than in learning about the real goings-on in the world beyond him.

 

The same principles hold true for information that other students offer, too -- not just information that I present.  We all have to remember that the material we're dealing with here is often touchy, but it's always about accurate, scholarly data and never about opinions.​​​