Hello everyone:

I was teaching face-to-face recently when one of my students commented that she disagreed with what the other students said during a discussion. She was pretty upset.

I tried explaining that college is a place where we have diverse folks with differing opinions but that everyone in my class has a right to his or her own opinions and that I was comfortable in having them express them.

The girl, a Millennial, seemed nonplussed by the idea that it was okay to think differently from someone else. Everyone, it seemed, should agree with her.

Can you please tell me: Have I missed something? While I have students who are conservative, liberal, straight, gay, transgender, or whatever, I allow everyone to speak freely in my class, provided they are not offensive. Miss Millennial disagreed with that, sharing that she really had the insight that others lacked.

We ended the class with my thanking the students for their insight on a movie and a video we had watched that day, but I really felt that she was put off by my allowing others to share diverse opinions.

What do you think about this?

Best,

Dr. Sheri