Jim Feldkamp Provides Tips On How To Discuss Terrorism With Students
Teachers and professions should not shy away from controversial subjects, especially crucial topics like terrorism. Jim Feldkamp mentions that classrooms should be a place where the students should be encouraged to discuss sensitive topics like terrorism, so that they can understand its severity and acquire the knowledge necessary to challenge inaccuracies. Feldkamp taught terrorism history to the students of the George Mason University.
Jim Feldkamp talks about how to approach the topic of terrorism with students
It is commonly seen today how social media propagates fake or exaggerated news. As young people are the ones using social media the most, it can often be hard for them to filter out facts from information that is not real. Professors like Jim Feldkamp help the students to source out accurate facts and facilitate healthy classroom discussions. Peer to peer debates and group discussions essentially enable the students to share their ideas in a more honest and candid fashion. Learning about the viewpoints of their classmates can also help the students gain a new perspective about various terrorist activities.
There are many cases where people tend to generalize, such as relating all terrorist activities to certain religious groups. It is imperative that professors try to correct such prejudices, and encourage the students to maintain a more open worldview. Jim Feldkamp mentions that terrorism has almost been based on two major causes, either fighting in the name of or in the defense of a certain religion, or fighting for the ownership of land. Even though terrorism is an extremist approach to such causes, it is important to note that the level of extremism has evolved and changed as the world has modernized. The root cause in the mind of various terrorist, however, has rarely changed.
In the classroom lectures of Jim Feldkamp, he spoke a lot about the Cuban revolution, as a result of which the Che Guevara and Fidel Castro overcame the fascist Batista. Hence, the country was placed under communist rule. This incident brought forth a lot of questions, including whether these two leaders were freedom fighters or terrorists. Feldkamp encourages his students to think about whether there is really a major difference between them. As the students look at things from such a perspective, it often creates a certain guilty empathy for many terrorist organizations. Especially for the ones who are fighting for freedom rather than vengeance. While such acts of violence and unlawfulness should never be accepted, James often tends to play with the emotions of the students on this aspect of terrorism. This helps the students to adequately broaden their perspective when it comes to terrorism.
James Feldkamp also teaches his students about the psychology behind terrorism. This is a topic that tends to intrigue most of his students. He provides them with an insight into how this psyche seeks to destroy both the minds and bodies of people. He mentions how terrorism-related violence is often about instilling terror now, rather than finding a solution to anything.
