Civil Discourse: Classroom Conversations for Stronger Communities

Build civil discourse with courage, understanding, belonging, and empathy.

Discomfort lies at the heart of all learning, especially concerning discussions on difficult and complex topics like climate change, slavery, and police brutality. This book presents ways to help teachers become strong facilitators--not endorsers--of contentious conversations to promote community. There are four themes that arise when exploring civil discourse: courage, understanding, belonging, and empathy. This book is organized around these themes, with each chapter providing:

• How-to tips for bringing work beyond the classroom
• Checklists to guide progress and assess learning
• Exploration of different types of discourse and when to use each
• Steps for preparing a classroom for contentious conversations
• Activities to practice discourse and disagreement