Showing Both Sides to an Issue

On Friday I visited the CHEC group at The Chapel in Akron. The day started with a bang and ended with some really great discussions about which direction to take some projects.

One really interesting question had to do with controversial or polarizing topics. There are many individuals (and topics and issues) in history where there are opposing viewpoints about the person. The question asked if the project should show only one side to prove that side, or show both viewpoints. And here's the really important answer:

You MUST show both viewpoints. It is more honest and more accurate to show both viewpoints and to address why one viewpoint may be accepted over another. Almost any topic has two sides and both sides need to be addressed.

For example, a topic looking at Japanese internment would need to address the U.S. government's reasoning for placing Japanese Americans into the internment centers in the desert as well as the viewpoint of the Japanese Americans. Ultimately, most historians and people agree that Japanese internment was wrong, but as a good historian, you need to address both viewpoints.

I thank the students and parents and teachers at CHEC in Akron for their thoughtful questions and warm reception. For those of you I spoke one on one with, you're on the right track! Keep up the good work.