@boomerang,
Quote: I fondly remember teachers who were willing to go "off topic" and discuss things with us. I think I learned more from my 8th grade civics teacher, Mr. Alexander, than I learned from any other class because of the Watergate hearings. He would talk very passionately about politics and the citizens role in government.
Watergate is quite different from racial discussions. The fact that it was your Civics class placed it well within reasonable boundaries for discussion. (not sure what age you are, so perhaps you were in the 8th grade at the time of Watergate which would also turn it into including current events, which from my recollection were less rigid. In none of the schools I attended, either in NY or in Vermont did we have an actual Civics class. The closest we came was Social Studies which was a fancy term for history, I can say this because that was all that was taught. That school also called English
'Language Arts'.
At any rate, Watergate being discussed in a Civics class, workable. Sudden talk on racial matters, questionable. I say questionable because during my school years, there was a great deal going on with the Civil Rights Movement, and towards the end of high school, the assassination of Martin Luther King. These were discussed in History Class, under the label of current events. So, when I was attending school, it was a topic which could suddenly be at the forefront.
For the life of me, I cannot recall if Mr.Dunleavy ever talked about the racial matters of the south when we read The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter in his English class. There were however other verbal diversions from lesson plans by various teachers. My first sixth grade teacher (who upon my return was also my last sixth grade teacher) was quite adept at this. Mr.R. would catch what a student or a few students were doing and would turn it into a brief discussion. There were however areas he would not go to. In those, he would steer us towards another topic, usual method was by addressing a student and asking about a matter they'd made mention of a day or so before.
In High School, I remember Freshman year and there I was. A.C. was in front of me, just to the left was V.A. A.C. used a racial epitaph towards V.A. and a fight ensued.
They were removed immediately, class went on...good thing too, as it was science class. Both young ladies returned a day or so later and nothing more was said of the incident. (at least not by the teacher)
While it's true that Mr.Brown's students hadn't been engaging in fisticuffs or other physical aggression it might well have turned that way seeing as he had no idea what direction things would head. It's risky.
Then again, I'm observing as a former educator who had strict guidelines, not as a parent, so I have a somewhat different take. My education also took place at a very different time, which additionally gives me a perspective which might not be current with what today's young people can or need to talk about.
