On the third day of school, I had the students in my 9th grade English class do an activity where they had to make assumptions about another student–low-risk things like favorite type of food, music, movies, etc.  The kids enjoyed the activity and for homework, wrote a journal entry about the experience.  They also described a time that assumptions had gotten them into trouble and a time when assumptions (or good instincts) had kept them out of trouble. 

Yesterday I showed them how to use the thoughts in their journals to create a thesis statement for an academic essay on assumptions–they could argue either way:  1) Although assumptions can help us avoid dangerous situations, however, we must be careful of what we assume about other people because assumptions can lead to stereotypes, prejudices, and lost opportunities, or 2) Although assumptions can lead to prejudices and stereotypes, however, we need to make some assumptions based on our instincts because reasonable assumptions can help us avoid dangerous situations.

I like that this “although, however, because” formula forces the kids to address both points of view.  I begin the lesson with one of my favorite quotes by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”  This quote becomes one of the major themes of our class as we discuss cultural, political, and religious beliefs different from our own.  I make sure to tell the kids that they do not have to agree with an opposing point of view, but they should at least be able to present it clearly.

Their homework for this Labor Day weekend is to take five topics–dress code, the election process, survival of the fittest, lab testing on animals, and video games–and create two thesis statements for each:  one “for” and one “against.”  When I presented this assignment, I wore my button that says, “How far can I open my mind before my brains fall out?”  Pretty far, my dears, pretty far.