Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Challenging Conversations – Safe Spaces vs. Brave Spaces

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

I'm not really sure I would agree with the continuum offered here by Heather Ross but I'm not sure I have a viable alternative either. She contrasts the concept of 'safe spaces', which we see in education writing a lot, with what she calls 'brave spaces' and 'free spaces', where people can be, um, more expressive. "Brave spaces make room for all topics and opinions (like Free), but include providing students with the tools they need to navigate and contribute to those conversations," she writes. I wouldn't call hateful conversation 'free'. The opposite of 'safe' isn't 'free', it's 'harmful'. And to navigate such spaces it's not enough to be 'brave', you need to be 'protected'. Rethinking the continuum might lead us to rethink the conversation.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 8:48 p.m.

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