Shades of Gray

Last school year, I was asked to teach AP Seminar. It’s a relatively new course (less than ten years old) that requires students to analyze others’ arguments and create their own arguments through research papers and presentations. Teaching AP Seminar was a big change for me after more than two decades in the classroom since it is a skills-based course. There is no content to teach, and once they start working on their research projects, I’m not allowed to help them anymore. It has been an adjustment.

Early in the course, as I’m teaching them about analyzing and creating arguments, I use a lesson that has been passed around at AP conferences called “The Mars Lesson.” To put it simply, students are asked whether or not we should try to colonize Mars. At first glance, it seems like a straight forward opinion question. But as we dig into the question, it is revealed that there is quite a bit to consider. There are various “lenses” to look through in order to evaluate the question.

Is colonizing Mars politically viable? What about the environmental aspect? Could we afford it economically? What impact would it have socially? And on and on…

The idea is to make sure students don’t just evaluate an article or argument (including their own) from one perspective or lens. They need to look at as many different sides of an argument as possible, or at least as many as will fit in their research papers.

It’s my hope as a teacher that this lesson resonates with at least some of them and that they can see how it might help them in their lives after high school.

So many times we want to answer questions or deal with situations in a cut and dry fashion. Yes or no. Up or down. Left or Right. Good or bad. Black or white. We do this because our brains need to make sense of the world, and putting things into nice, neat boxes helps us to do that.

The problem is that most questions and problems in life are not that easily solved. As I’ve written before, most things are somewhere in the middle. They are shades of gray (or grey, if you’d like), and those shades of gray make life a beautiful mess.

Which college should I go to? Should I go to college? Should I take this job or wait for something different? Should I ask him/her out on a date? Do I want to date? What should I have for dinner? Meat eater or vegetarian or vegan? Who should I vote for? Why do I feel that way?

I could write more, but you get the idea. We deal with complex decisions on a daily basis. Some are life changing. Some are mundane. But they can all be complex in their own way. Sometimes the decision will be life altering. Other times, we’ll forget we even had to make the decision. Sometimes you will be the only person impacted. Other times you may change the lives of others as well.

So how do we deal?

We do the best we can to live the best life we can. Even that will mean different things to different people.

My take: Try to stay happy and healthy. Try to leave things better than they were when I got there. Try not to hurt others with my decisions if at all possible, but if it is unavoidable, explain my reasoning and try to ease the burden.

Be kind. That part is free.

We’re not always going to make the best decisions, but if we do the best we can with the information we have, it’ll all work out in the end. I truly believe that.