“That’s insane and wrong! I’m going to tell my parents” – is the phrase that school teachers are concerned to hear from their students when teaching sensitive and controversial topics in the classroom (Tribukait, 2021, p. 558). It is quite common for some teachers to report their worries about parents or grandparents coming to the school and complaining that students just learned another way of thinking about particular issues (Christophe & Tribukait, 2019; Chikoko et al., 2011). This guide is designed to help teachers prevent or reduce tension between the school/teacher and parents in a respectful, sensitive, systematic, and solution-focused way when teaching controversial issues in the classroom. This guide is also a self-reflection tool for school teachers to reflect on the way they approach communication with parents. Through their guide, Mikhail Mogutov and Bjorn Wansink provide three main systematic approaches that might help teachers to handle conflicting parents on different levels.
The AVATAR method: historical empathy through imagination
“The textbook is man-made’. Using history textbooks for active learning, critical thinking and citizenship-building’
Reflecting Approaches and Perspectives
Engaging in multi-perspective class discussions
On the Right “Track” to Learning History