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Alexander Summary

Alexander’s article analyzes how composition classrooms can be helpful in discussing hot button topics. The networking of these classrooms allows for anonymous posts so students can safely voice their opinions and thoughts, and also promotes full participation from the whole class, especially for students who are not comfortable with speaking out loud in class. This article focuses on the topic of homosexuality in the classroom. Speaking about sexual orientation is especially helpful for homosexual students as they can have a voice. While heterosexual students do not usually see the relevance of discussing sexual orientation, it is helpful to them as well in helping them expand their mindset from thinking that homosexuality is strange to rather that it is in fact normal. Alexander sees the potential harm for students and professors/teachers with discussing this topic in the conventional way so he suggests that it is done in composition classes where most discussions are held anonymously online. There is no fear of physical harm or of identities being discovered. The online aspect is a great way to start the conversation, as all opinions are expressed and can be further delved into during class discussions in a civil manner. This helps teachers test the waters and get a feel for the class’s safety on a specific topic, especially over sexual orientation relevancy.