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The previous sections focused on building foundational skills and habits for engaging in constructive dialogue. Once participants have a deeper understanding of themselves and have reflected on and practiced building empathy and cultivating curiosity about others, a natural next step is to extend these practices into a broader conversation about living in a democracy. This section is designed to help participants reflect on what it means to live in a democracy and how that impacts our collective ability to engage in difficult conversations across differences. This is a bridge to the final section, which will focus on the concrete practice of dialogue within a community and broader democratic society using the skills, habits, and understandings cultivated throughout the progression of learning outlined in this collection of activities.
Activities:
IV-1 Two Sources, The Same Story
IV-1 Two Sources, The Same Story
Goals:
To examine how news outlets that have differing “points of view” portray the same story.
To explore how media bias can influence reporting on an issue.
To compare stories that are attempting to present a balanced view of an issue or story to those that are written from a “left” or “right” leaning perspective.
IV-2 All Sides, All Stances
IV-2 All Sides, All Stances
Goals:
To continue to cultivate the ability to listen carefully to different arguments or perspectives about an issue, especially those that differ from our own.
To continue to develop the ability to ask questions that help us learn more about another person’s perspective on an issue.
To consider a particular issue from a variety of perspectives and then be able to articulate the key points that each perspective holds around that issue.
IV-3 Essential Elements in a Representative Democracy
IV-3 Essential Elements in a Representative Democracy
Goals:
To consider what are the most important aspects of a representative democracy.
To have a dialogue about what participants individually and collectively think are the most important characteristics of this kind of system.
IV-4 To Be an American
IV-4 To Be an American
Goals:
To reflect on what it means to you to live in the United States at this point in time.
To consider what you think it means to “be an American.”
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