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Several language and global education professionals have been writing about teaching controversial issues and bringing up difficult topics in class. Here are some resources to guide you if you want to deal with potentially difficult topics in class:

An e-book to guide English language teachers in teaching “PARSNIPS”: Politics, Alcohol, Religion, Sex, Narcotics, -Isms, Pork: http://teflgeek.net/2015/08/10/parsnips-in-elt-stepping-out-of-the-comfort-zone/

Two recent articles about teaching about world religions: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/global_learning/2015/08/make_the_study_of_world_religions_more_meaningful_strategies_and_resources.html and at the beginning of this newsletter: http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=a9f6c180278a62e01d817ae4b&id=d851bfb8ea&e=c00fca3321

Three posts from the TESOL blog about teaching controversial topics: same-sex marriage, global warming, and controversy in general: http://blog.tesol.org/controversy-in-adult-conversation/, http://blog.tesol.org/discussing-same-sex-marriage-in-elt-a-survey-approach/, and http://blog.tesol.org/discussing-global-warming-and-climate-change-in-elt/

Finally, some suggestions for talking about difficult classroom management issues: http://busyteacher.org/22819-difficult-conversations-with-students-how-to.html