The Sky is Green...

Found here

Every now and then however, there seems to be a student who wants recognition or notoriety. They will do anything to get it: disagree with the teacher, make outrageous assertions, jump up in class and wave their arms or flop over the desk, cry--whatever it is, it is large and obvious. Or they work to create a student pecking order that places them front and center. Let me be clear about what I think of this: it's obnoxious.

Me: "It's important that we as therapists do our own emotional work because we can only take our clients where we ourselves have dared to go." (The sky is blue.)

She: "I disagree. It's ludicrous to think that I have to be raped to work with people who are raped, to be the victim of violence to counsel victims. I just think that... (The sky is green)." She goes on for about 10 minutes with questionable logic, arguing against something that she thought I said but that I didn't. It goes on so long that the other students begin squirming. I am stuck between trying to encourage her to express herself and to be sure I understand what she is saying, and to shut her down because of what she is trying to do in the class.
Me: "I think you and I are talking about related things but that are different, fundamentally. I'm speaking of the internal process of learning how to be vulnerable, aware. Bowen says that we can only help our clients become differentiated as much as we ourselves are--"
She: "I think that is short-sighted because life is fluid...(the sky IS green)." A long story ensued about her chance meeting with a man on a plane who is now her best friend.
Me: "Help me understand how your story ties in to your ideas about life being fluid and that it is not necessary to understand the internal process--"
She: "Oh yeah. I'm just saying that...(the sky is green)."
Me: "I understand your point and we have different views of this. I'd like to move on."
She: "I will prove to you (that the sky is green) by the end of this class because (the sky is green)."
Me: "Thank you. Liz, you were about to make a comment..."
Liz: "Thank you for noticing that I wanted to talk, Dr. B. I think that perhaps what we're talking about here is the difference between looking at (the sky versus the clouds in the sky)."
Me: "Thank you for pointing that out. I'd like to move on to discuss (what you think of clouds)."
She: "Well, (clouds are not what you think they are.)"

And off we go.
I wonder how Jesus would have dealt with this dynamic. He would be able to say the perfect thing that could take the conversation deeper and redirect the speaker to face the issues that drive them to behave this way in the first place. Meanwhile, I struggle along as I try to affirm, block, redirect, and acknowledge. I hope that my students benefit this quarter as we begin new classes.