I have to know what I'm doing, not just know my subject. And worst of all, I can presume nothing except that I'm expected to lead the class back to a productive path. You sense, I'm sure, that I approached this topic with some unease. I've come away from my interviews feeling quite differently. Paths lead out of my nightmare, productive ones, non-authoritarian ones that can turn these frights into teachable moments.
Teachers can harness the energy in incivility and turn it to a good end.
We've known this was true of conflict, debate, controversy for a long time, but we've been inclined to forget it. There's a partnership in a good debate. There, too, partnership and collaboration overwhelm unproductive conflict. The symbiotic partnership between the printed periodical you hold in your hand and its site on the Web also continues as a growing resource. With this issue, the Forum reaches thousands of new readers whose campuses have established site licenses to make the publication available to all their faculty.