Teaching Civil Discourse

Hello Everyone,

 

I hope you have had a wonderful week and learned a lot about what our students do each day in their classes. It was extremely illuminating for me as a parent to get a better idea of how my own kids are doing in their classes, and it makes me ever more appreciative of the work our teachers do to truly know our kids.

 

As you know this past Wednesday’s Mustang Day focused on civil discourse. Director of Diversity Amy Troy did a fantastic job putting together activities for all students in kindergarten through twelfth grade to facilitate their working on this important skill. While all students engaged in similar activities, Amy shifted the lessons appropriately to align with different age groups.

 

In Lower School, after a quick homeroom check-in, students came together in the music room, where Amy led an assembly that introduced the idea of civil discourse. In the assembly, we went over the difference between facts and opinions and learned about Socrates and his methods for discussions. We also went over norms for how to interact with one another when discussing issues. The presentation provided an age-appropriate foundation for the next activity.

 

After this, students broke up into groups by grade level. While most grades worked on their own, the first and third grades decided to join forces. In each classroom, students did some basic activities to introduce the idea of having different opinions. For instance, they did an activity in which they went to one side of the room or the other based on what they liked more between Batman and Spiderman or chocolate or vanilla ice cream. These activities allowed students to recognize that people may have differing opinions and that this is okay.

 

Groups then decided on a topic to discuss more deeply. In some groups, they determined the topic together while in others the teachers had pre-determined the topic. Kindergarten students debated which playground was more enjoyable – the little one or the big one. First and third graders discussed which animal made the better pet – cats or dogs. In second grade, students debated whether books or movies were better. And the fourth grade students responded to the question, does treating people fairly mean treating them equally?

 

In preparation for these discussions, students worked in small groups based on their opinions and came up with reasons to support their beliefs. This is a skill that comes up over and over again in school and in our daily lives. It’s difficult to make a persuasive argument without providing solid reasons for an opinion. It was wonderful to see students of all ages working on this important skill.

 

I had the great fortune to float around the building and sit in on portions of each group’s discussion. In kindergarten, we talked at length about facts versus opinions and how you can prove facts. Dale Roberts, the kindergarten teacher, used as an example the sentence, The little playground is littler than the big playground. She talked with students about how you might prove that (for instance, through measuring the two playgrounds). Then, when talking about the discussion question regarding which was better between the two playgrounds, she talked about how, while you may not be able to prove your opinion, you can provide reasons to support your opinion, and those reasons may convince others to change their opinions. She also asked, “And, if they don’t change their opinion, is that okay?” reiterating the idea that having different perspectives is fine.

 

After the small groups came up with their talking points, they came together to engage in discussions, sitting in a circle so that everyone could see one another. Teachers did a great job facilitating these discussions, consistently emphasizing the importance of listening respectfully and speaking respectfully.

 

In Middle School, students similarly engaged in deep discussion on topics ranging from pesticides to water rights to social media. They delved deeper at this level, reading articles in advance of the discussions so as to use specific evidence to support their claims. I got to sit in on some of these discussions, and I was impressed with the level of discourse. I also heard extremely positive reports from teachers about how engaged students were and how some students who weren’t typically as talkative were speaking up frequently when given the space to do so.

 

The topic of civil discourse is a timely one given that we are in the midst of a presidential election, a time when disagreement on issues is front and center in the media. And others feel the same way – Upper School Director Ann Carson shared an article in the New York Times from this week that talk about the value of teaching civil discourse and invites students to contribute to a student opinion forum on different issues each week (this week’s forum is on immigration). Ann shared the article with faculty, and I hope that many will encourage our students to contribute and that you encourage them as well. I know that, from their classes and from our recent Mustang Day, they are well prepared to put their voices out there, and I can’t wait to hear what they have to say.