Educators Speak about Building Foundations for Civil Discourse
On the evening of Monday, September 12, a group of educators presented a thoughtful reflection on civil discourse.
Jason Robart, President of the Nashoba Brooks School Board of Trustees, moderated the panel, which included Danielle Heard, Head of School at Nashoba Brooks School; Moira Kelly, Executive Director of Explo and organizer of Join the Debates; Dan Scheibe, Head of School at Lawrence Academy; and Jerry Ward, Headmaster of The Fenn School addressed "Building Foundations for Civil Discourse in an Election Year & Beyond: How Can We Partner To Help Children Respect Differing Opinions?".
Because of the age range of the students served at the three schools — Nashoba Brooks is coed in PreK through Grade 3 and all girls in Grades 4 through 8, Fenn is all boys in Grades 4 through 9, and Lawrence is coed in Grades 9 through 12 — the three school heads brought different perspectives about how their schools will work with students in this election year. The group began by considering how students can make sense of the election. They agreed that schools should support students in developing the skills and strategies needed to have civil discussions and be able to assess the difference between fact and opinion.
Moira Kelly explained that Join the Debates (www.jointhedebates.org) has developed a curriculum that is skills-based, rooted in listening, sharing, and deciding. She said the initiative is designed to help students become articulate about their ideas and positions on a variety of topics and suggested that schools develop a culture where students can disagree, but understand how to engage.
The school heads spoke about the value of respectfulness and how that can be a touchstone for conversations. One shared that civil discourse goes beyond the skills you teach students and that schools need to foster a safe and healthy school culture in order for students to have conversations about differing views.
The panelists agreed that educators and parents should recognize that students want to talk about the election. They agreed that students should be able to express their views, but be prepared to have them challenged. The panelists discussed how to encourage students to examine the differing party platforms and how the candidates align with those issues. The importance of this work was highlighted by one speaker’s comments: “This isn’t going away after the election. We need to figure out how to engage each other and how we can establish a common humanity together.”
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Because of the age range of the students served at the three schools — Nashoba Brooks is coed in PreK through Grade 3 and all girls in Grades 4 through 8, Fenn is all boys in Grades 4 through 9, and Lawrence is coed in Grades 9 through 12 — the three school heads brought different perspectives about how their schools will work with students in this election year. The group began by considering how students can make sense of the election. They agreed that schools should support students in developing the skills and strategies needed to have civil discussions and be able to assess the difference between fact and opinion.
Moira Kelly explained that Join the Debates (www.jointhedebates.org) has developed a curriculum that is skills-based, rooted in listening, sharing, and deciding. She said the initiative is designed to help students become articulate about their ideas and positions on a variety of topics and suggested that schools develop a culture where students can disagree, but understand how to engage.
The school heads spoke about the value of respectfulness and how that can be a touchstone for conversations. One shared that civil discourse goes beyond the skills you teach students and that schools need to foster a safe and healthy school culture in order for students to have conversations about differing views.
The panelists agreed that educators and parents should recognize that students want to talk about the election. They agreed that students should be able to express their views, but be prepared to have them challenged. The panelists discussed how to encourage students to examine the differing party platforms and how the candidates align with those issues. The importance of this work was highlighted by one speaker’s comments: “This isn’t going away after the election. We need to figure out how to engage each other and how we can establish a common humanity together.”
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Situated on a beautiful 30-acre campus in historic Concord, Massachusetts, Nashoba Brooks School enrolls all genders in Preschool through Grade 3, and students identifying as girls in Grades 4 through 8. Nashoba Brooks is an independent school designed to build community, character, and confidence in its students.
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