Kids talking about abortion

Well that was a surprise. I was subbing in a Middle School leadership class the other day and the lesson left for me asked students to make posters about what they wished they could do to change the world. I had two students say 'stop abortion'.

I wasn't really prepared for this. Fortunately it was a school that I had subbed pretty frequently so I knew the students, but I didn't know them REALLY well.

Each student had the opportunity to get up and talk about their poster, why it was important to them, and what they could do in their life to help accomplish that.

I was scared, but it actually went really well. I allowed the students to lead the discussion, asking questions themselves and answering themselves. I acted as a referee, making sure kids were only talking one at a time, and that each discussion got a fair amount of time, but didn't get out of hand, over focused, or turn into an argument. There were a few times when I took the opportunity to inform based on fact, but mostly I kept out of it. I often restated what students said, clarifying and summarizing, and they then reaffirmed if what I said was what they meant.

It went really well in my opinion, and after school I asked one of the most opinionated girls who lead a discussion about ending abortion and asked how I did, and whether I let my personal bias through, and she said I hadn't and she thought I did a great job. I'm glad to hear that, and glad I've crossed that hurdle now. Students got a chance to voice their opinions and examine difficult issues, and I managed to keep my mouth shut!