5 Steps to Healing Polarization in the Classroom

by Amy Uelmen, Michael Kessler

Overview

This practical guide helps teachers and students to foster a learning environment where even the most difficult and divisive issues can be discussed. Examples incorporate the voices and experiences of student.

REVIEWS "Given the turmoil on current college campuses, the classroom may seem an unlikely place for healing political polarization. Amy Uelmen and Michael Kessler clear away the sound bites and culture-war posturing to reveal the transformative potential of the mutual vulnerability that the best teaching brings forward. This book is not wishful academic thinking - it's a road map shaped by their real-world experience. Uelmen and Kessler show the vital importance of higher education-- not as a tool for mere job training, but for equipping both faculty and students to push back against what Pope Francis calls the 'culture of indifference.' This book is an invaluable teacher's manual for helping students become skilled professionals who know how to practice dialogue in their academic, economic, and personal lives."

Robert K. Vischer
Dean and Mengler Chair in Law
University of St. Thomas School of Law

"Five Steps to Healing Polarization in the Classroom offers easy-to-apply guidelines for teachers who want class discussions to be thoughtful and vulnerable while still being critical. The authors give practical steps to foster a 'hermeneutic of goodwill' which makes space for students to bring their actual viewpoints into the classroom. Depolarization, they argue, doesn't happen when students bracket their commitments but rather when they share them in a structured, supportive environment. This is not just another book about the value of listening and civility, but a helpful guide for educators hoping to unlock the transforming power of dialogue."

Russell Johnson
PhD candidate at the University of Chicago Divinity School

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781565486294
Publisher:	New City Press NY
Publication date:	01/01/2018
Series:	5 Steps to
Pages:	72
Product dimensions:	4.50(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.17(d)

About the Author

Amy Uelmen is a Lecturer at Georgetown Law School and a Research Fellow with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. She teaches seminars that help students to explore how religious values and perspectives might intersect with professional identity, ethics, and theories of justice. From 2001 until July 2011 she served as the founding Director of the Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer's Work at Fordham University School of Law. Throughout her career, she has been active with programs that aim to build bridges between people of different faiths. Her B.A. in American Studies, J.D. and S.J.D. are from Georgetown, and she hold an M.A. in Theology from Fordham.

Michael Kessler is managing director of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, an associate professor of the practice of moral and political theory in the Department of Government, and an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown Law School. His research and writing focus on theology, philosophical and religious ethics, and social, political, and legal theory. Co-edited volumes include the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Political Theology. Kessler received his Ph.D. focusing on religion and moral and political theory from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. His B.A. in theology and philosophy are from Valparaiso University.

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Step 1 Prioritize Reflective Over Reactive Habits of Mind 17

In students' words: The value of reflection 22

Step 2 Discern Potential Conversational Connections With Other Colleagues 25

In students' words: The value of a pre-circulated agenda 29

Step 3 Be Fully Present and Engaged in the Seminar Discussion 33

Unplug from distractions due to technology 34

Get everyone to unplug 36

In students' words: The value of banning laptops 37

Step 4 Both Professors and Students Promote Full Participation by All Members of the Class 43

Every student speaks every class 43

Small group discussions to hone the art of listening 44

In students' words: the value of small group discussions 47

Step 5 Learn to Lean into Disagreement and Conflict 51

In students' words: The value of leaning into disagreement 53

Accompaniment 57

The inter-play of private and public space 57

Questions of scale: Larger settings, fewer resources 60

Appendix 63

Exercise: "Listening to Understand" 63

Exercise: "What is at Stake for You?" 65

Communication Tool: The SOS Card 66

Notes 67

Editorial Reviews

"Given the turmoil on current college campuses, the classroom may seem an unlikely place for healing political polarization. This book is an invaluable teacher's manual for helping students become skilled professionals who know how to practice dialogue in their academic, economic, and personal lives." -- Robert K. Vischer "Dean and Mengler Chair in Law University of St. Thomas School of Law"

From the Publisher