Not Light, but Fire

by Matthew R. Kay

This assertion is offered with a magician’s Voila!—I have said it, therefore it is so. And with these magic words, bullies are tamed and introverts peek from their shells. We are suddenly ready to lead conversations about sensitive topics, because our students are magically now eager to take risks. If, over the course of the year, they forget our first-day pronouncement, we eagerly remind them: Remember, everyone, this is a safe space. After this, students who undermine such spaces are viewed as troublemakers, and to mete out appropriate discipline, we pull from our bag of behavior modification tactics. Meanwhile, familiar classroom hierarchies and interactions remain stubbornly visible—outspoken kids still dominate conversation, and students remain disagreeable when they disagree. This, of course, frustrates us. Why won’t students share in our utopian vision? Did they not hear us?