Ed Blog / The Public Part

Disagreement In Public, Conducted Well

Argue with the position, describe your own practice, and let the reader weigh it.

Public writing about teaching involves disagreement, and disagreement is worth having. It is done well when it engages the position rather than the person, states the other view accurately enough that its holder would recognise it, and concedes what is true in it before explaining what you think is wrong. Done badly it becomes a performance in which the goal is to appear correct, which is a different activity that happens to use the same words.

Two habits help. Restate before you object: if you cannot summarise the other view in a way its proponent would accept, you are arguing with something you have constructed. Then argue from your own practice rather than from assertion, since the strongest thing you have is a description of what you actually did and observed, offered as one case rather than as proof.

Know when to stop. Some exchanges become quicker and sharper and stop producing anything, and the impulse to have the last word rarely serves the writing. Leaving your position stated and stepping back is not a loss. It is also worth remembering that the exchange is permanent and public, and that your tone in a fifth reply at eleven at night is part of the record.