There are many good reasons to teach Argument. In Argument in the Real World, Kristen Hawley Turner and Troy Hicks outline the main rationale for Teaching Digital Argument.
- To create productive citizens: Posting a selfie or re-tweeting someone else's post is one thing. Creating one's own valuable piece of writing that offers an argument of substance is quite another. We want students to create content, not just redistribute it.
- To practice the moves of argument and develop critical thinking: Practice is the best way to develop critical thinkers and they must be provided with " a more dynamic vocabulary of action, gesture, and response."
- To develop real-world literacy: The big goal? successful and enjoyable literate lives. One way to get there is to engage students in critical and creative opportunities for composing digital writing.
- To embed argument throughout the curriculum: After all "Argument is a basic structure of discourse that filters through everything we speak or write."-- George Hillocks Jr.
In the following video Kristen and Troy discuss that students' digital capabilities don't always indicate or acknowledge a depth of critical literacy, and why we must teach them how to communicate in a digital world.