Everyone loves a good eyebrow-raising controversy. Lolita, Lady Chatterley's Lover, and The Wizard of Oz (yes, really) may have had their moment in the sun when classrooms tried to ban them way back when, but doesn't that just make them even more readable?

We're not arguing with that. (Or loaning you our copy, thankyouverymuch).

But how do you talk about some of the rough stuff we come across in literature while keeping your students focused and respectful—and also, we might ask, keeping your job?

Let's start with the super basics.

What Makes a Book Controversial?

The definition of controversial may vary a bit from district to district and school to school, but there are certain hot-button issues that will likely be perceived as controversial—to some extent—across the board. In particular, those issues related to sex, violence, drugs, race, and religion. Rock 'n' roll? Not so much anymore. Elvis, the Rolling Stones, the punk movement, and Tipper Gore kind of got that one out of our collective system.

But the other five? When they come up in books you're using in the classroom, fireworks could fly—or, at the very least, conversations could become real awkward real fast.

As stated in the article "Controversial Subjects in the Classroom" from Teaching Tolerance, "Students resist taboo topics—sexuality, religion, immigration, disability, race—because these 'hot' social issues often lead to emotional outbursts and interpersonal conflict. Many parents and administrators also find it inappropriate for teachers to delve into controversial matters in the classroom" (source). And yet, the article continues to point out that, "Studies show discussing controversial issues in respectful and supportive classroom contexts increases political engagement and tolerance toward others" (source).

So what's an ELA teacher to do?

Combatting Controversy, One Debate at a Time

Here are some of our favorite tips for tackling controversial topics in your classroom—some gleaned from the glorious Interwebs, some directly from the heart of Shmoop.

Start by figuring out what your students already know and what their experiences with the topic may be.

You can save yourself a bit of work and help determine your trajectory by following this tip from Busy Teacher: "Before giving students any materials supporting one side or the other about a controversial topic, ask them what they already know about it.…you may be surprised at the experience your students may already have with a given issue. Also, letting students volunteer information may give you a heads up that they could have deep personal connections to the topic" (source).

Not only do you get a feel for their opinions on immigration before you open the floodgates to full-on debate, but you also figure out if this might hit close to home for some of them. And that's when you know that it's not just a controversial issue in society: this is real life for some of your students, and that makes the controversy all the more poignant.

Don't be afraid to dive right in.

No, we're not contradicting our last point. After all, you don't have to say "so hands up if you believe in abortion" to get the conversation going.

So how to do it? If you're getting ready to teach, say, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, you're going to have to address all those masturbation references. Instead of waiting for all of the awkward silences and covered-mouth-giggles that are just waiting to burst once students have read the first few chapters, we recommend nipping the issue in the bud.

Before your class even starts the book—or, okay, at the beginning of the class after your students will have first encountered the material—get right to it: "So there are a lot of references to masturbation in this book. Why might that be?"

Boom. You said it.

Sure, you'll probably be greeted with stunned silence, wide eyes, and yes, a few of those precious half-stifled-giggles. But once you have those sentences out, you've done it. You've broached the issue directly. Pointed out the elephant in the room and refused to be intimidated by a few fleeting sentences.

And if no one has any ideas, you can probe further with something along the lines of, "Well, what genre do you think this book belongs to?" Eventually, you can coax someone into giving you young adult lit and perhaps even coming-of-age story. (Be sure to have a gold star ready if anyone offers up Bildungsroman). From there, it's a short skip-and-a-jump to the idea that sex—including masturbation—is a big issue in the lives of people as they transition between childhood and adulthood, so it makes sense that it would come up in a novel that is supposed to be a diary—the very personal thoughts—of an adolescent. Right?

And really, if your students are still reluctant to make eye contact and clearly ready to change topics, that's all you have to say in this case. Of course, this is a pretty mild case. If the issues are more complex, take up more front-and-center time in the book, or go way beyond your comfort zone, you'll need to do more than simply point out the elephant and continue through the jungle.

But that's why we have more tips here for you. Read on.

Use the Socratic Seminar approach.

The Socratic Seminar is a method that places the responsibility for facilitating discussions on the students' shoulders. Easy out, huh? Not necessarily. But it can be a great way to deal with controversial topics and to teach students to discuss difficult and complex ideas with maturity and respect.

And here you may see it modeled beautifully in a video from Teaching Channel which features Esther Wu's high school English class discussing the use of the N-word in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

In your own classroom, it may take a few tries for you and your students to successfully implement Socratic Seminars as a method of discussion. It's not easy, and neither is the material you're working with. But ultimately, it could be a rewarding experience for all.

And you know what? Students enjoy being a part of the planning process for class. They actually like telling you what did (or didn't) go so well and how it could be better. And they learn a lot when they have the opportunity to do so.

Want some how-to's? Facing History has a good basic definition of the Socratic Seminar as well as steps for setting one up. Padiea has a great deal of information about Socratic Seminars, including how to choose an appropriate topic, how to ask questions, and how to set rules, and this document from the NWABR has ready-made student evaluation/peer-coaching forms you can use, as well as yet more information and ideas about instituting Socratic Seminars.

Consider what your students are ready for and establish a safe atmosphere for discussions.

Yeah, we know. Tip #2 was all about diving right in, and that's all well and good when you're dealing with mentions of masturbation in Sherman Alexie's work. So sure, the DRI (dive-right-in) method is effective for diffusing giggle-and-whisper-fests before they start and for making sure that an issue that isn't the primary topic of a novel doesn't become a continual distraction.

However…it's also important to make sure that (a) your students are ready to broach the controversial topic at hand, and (b) they feel safe talking about it in your classroom.

To accomplish both of these aims, the first thing you need to do is know your students well. Take time to listen to their ideas and do what you can to convey to them that their thoughts and opinions matter to you. Model respectful dialogue for your students by listening well, echoing portions of what they say to make sure you're understanding them correctly, and offering constructive feedback. By talking regularly with your students early on, you'll have a better idea of their maturity levels as well as how they might respond to different material.

In terms of making the classroom and safe place for serious discussions, your modeling of respectful dialogue and emphasis on non-judgmental responses is the key first step to ensuring that students understand what that kind of dialogue looks and sounds like.

A good second step is to set up class guidelines for discussions. It can look like a set of rules and norms (and guess what? you can develop them with your students) that respond to the question: "What do we need to do to make sure that everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas?" Yeah, we know, good question. Effective ground rules will help steer students away from combative discussion styles (like, for example, those we see politicians engaging in ad infinitum), and toward more exploratory dialogues with the goal of clarifying and understanding, rather than winning.

Carnegie Mellon offers a good set of basic ground rules as well as questions you can use to help students come up with their own list of classroom discussion guidelines. Carleton College offers a similar, though more extensive, process with two lesson plans (one is 45 minutes, the other 30 minutes) designed to help create a safe classroom for discussions as well as discussion guidelines. You'll be safely and smartly discussing Sherman in no time.

Bring in experts.

If a topic just feels too darn heavy for you to broach on your own, or if you just feel like having a few more educated voices in the room could be helpful, by all means, bring in some folks who specialize in that particular area. This is a great idea in particular if you're dealing with a book that tackles rape, dating violence, abuse, or similarly charged topics. You can have the visitor do a presentation to help educate you and your students about a topic, or have them chair a Q&A session, hold a discussion panel, or just read along and participate in a class discussions.

Of course, any experts you bring in you'll want to vet first. Get recommendations from your colleagues and friends rather than just calling up a local group you know nothing about. (But we know you already knew that.) After all, there are experts who know their stuff, and there are experts who are good at talking to people, and it's good to know that you're getting what you need.

You also don't want to bring someone into your classroom to discuss a sensitive issue and find that the person you've brought in makes your students more uncomfortable than they were in the first place. Sure, having that extra person can help add gravity to the discussion—and that can be pretty key when you're facing some of the scenarios we mentioned—but if they don't know how to talk about it to eighth-graders, you're lost.

So do your research, introduce your experts to your class and your class to your experts, and make sure everyone knows the ground rules for discussion.

Use an inquiry-based model.

Instead of peppering your students with information about a controversial issue, help them to make their own way through it by asking leading questions and letting their answers determine where the discussion goes.

If you have 30 minutes to spare (actually, 26:42), you can see a great example of this method in action in this video (also from Teaching Channel) that shows ELA teacher Sheila Kosoff expertly guiding her students through a discussion of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Kosoff uses the inquiry-based method employed at her school, Urban Academy, and it's clear that her students are both engaged and empowered by the process.

Another benefit of the inquiry-based model is that it gives students some control over just how far they want to take a discussion. The answers they offer—or don't offer—will help indicate to you how comfortable they are and just how far you can safely push a topic to encourage deep thinking and reflection without causing students to shut down or tune out.

Because in the end, that's the goal, right? Making them think a little deeper about some of the tougher issues in our society, without putting them into a state of such deep existential anguish they can barely think.

We'll leave that to AP Physics class.