Is Productive Civil Discourse in Education Dead? A Discussion with Cornel West and Robert George
It’s been a tough few weeks, months, even years in the world of schooling, notably relating to partaking in productive discourse. No matter what schooling dialog takes place—from debating essential race idea to the back-and-forth concerning masks in school rooms—it’s not all the time straightforward to have an trustworthy, productive dialog about options or what to do subsequent.
If educators are working for youngsters to create the most effective studying environments for learners of all ages, how will we talk and work with one another, when it feels extremely troublesome? Is there a solution to get again to civil discourse, which isn’t outlined as mere politeness, however slightly a course of the place people collect, hear to one another, debate, make up their minds, and decide a plan of action?
Deep in the guts of New Orleans, a hotbed of American tradition and historical past, students Cornel West and Robert George—or as they name one another, Brother West and Brother Robbie—got here collectively through the ISTE 2022 convention to debate precisely that. (I had the respect of moderating the dialogue.)
Though these two esteemed lecturers stay at reverse ends of the political and philosophical spectrum, they share a friendship spanning the many years. West is an esteemed scholar of philosophy, and African-American research, and a outstanding commentator on political and social points. George is the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, and is a number one authorized scholar.
So, how will we take discourse from unproductive to productive? West and George took to the ISTE stage to share a number of suggestions—and a few of their extra controversial opinions.
#1: Genuine dialogue should be rooted in respect and consciousness of human fallibility.
As the overlap of politics and schooling has gotten extra excessive in the previous couple of years, issues around mask wearing and how we should teach history have performed out extra and extra in the varsity context. Thus, what’s the position of faculties relating to matters in which of us stay at reverse ends of the political spectrum?
According to West, when there’s “deep distrust,” you received’t have “genuine dialogue.” But in order to succeed in some extent of belief, you should exhibit a stage of vulnerability.
George added that people should have “a commitment to truth seek,” the place they select to pursue reality relentlessly. Beyond that, there’s a requirement to concentrate on and acknowledge our personal imperfections.
“If we do not acknowledge our own fallibility, there is no possibility of civil discourse, there is no possibility of truth seeking,” mentioned George. “We will seek to shut down anybody who disagrees with us or turn our backs and not listen.”
#2: The web doesn’t create troublesome discourse—folks do.
In a time when most interactions between college students are occurring in digital areas, some might surprise how we educate younger folks on the significance of civil discourse in digital areas—particularly when the present state of the web isn’t all the time “civil.” West argued that folks can’t just resort to blaming the internet. Rather, the internet is a tool with living, breathing humans behind it.
“Any form of technology is always subordinate to the quality of the person who is using it,” West explained. “If you’re on the internet, just in order to get attention, just in order to vent, or just in order to express some kind of raw passion… then you’re not going to have a serious quest for truth that Brother Robbie’s talking about.”
West further added a point of optimism: “It is possible to have high-quality conversation on the internet, if you are a high-quality-conversation person.”
#3: Teamwork between stakeholders is crucial when setting ethical guidelines for students.
Any educator recognizes that there are general questions of educational ethics for the everyday—such as, how do we give every student equitable resources? But recently, more incideniary topics, like whether stun gun-equipped drones are the answer to preventing school shootings (as tech company Taser suggested), have emerged. How do we set ethical guidelines around what happens in the classroom—and who should determine if we’re abiding by those guidelines?
Here, West and George respectfully deviated. For George, parents and families, including grandparents, have the primary role to direct the upbringing and education of their children. “The Supreme Court of the United States recognized constitutional protection for the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children,” he explained, adding that “parents need to be in a partnership with teachers” where the two parties work closely together.
West painted the issue more holistically, arguing that anyone involved in decision-making must have deep respect for others involved, especially when disagreements are involved. He used his own relationship with George as an example:
“To be revered is [to have] somebody who cares sufficient to take the time to observe by means of on whether or not they agree or disagree,” he said. “I’ve nice respect for brother Robbie, even given my disagreements. He has respect for me, even given his disagreements. But we have now a love that is basic. And that love has to do with compassion, it has to do with consideration.”
#4: The ideal classroom is full of dialogue and failure—not indoctrination.
Though the ISTE conferences take a laser focus into technology in the classroom, neither West nor George identified technology as their top component for an ideal classroom setting. Rather, they spoke fondly about the relationship that they have, and the lessons they’ve learned throughout their years as professors.
West, for example, spoke of “a Socratic sense of intellectual humility,” in which words and action blend. But students also shouldn’t be afraid to fail, and according to West, any classroom must adopt a Samuel Beckett “try again, fail again, fail better” mentality.
“Socrates, like Malcolm X, he says what he means and he means what he says,” West explained. “And that’s really what sincerity, that’s what integrity is all about, but you’re going to fall on your face.”
George agreed, describing the difference between teaching and indoctrinating:
“The teacher’s not trying to tell the student what to think, to be liberal, to be conservative, whatever,” he mentioned. “But empowering the coed by encouraging and enhancing the coed’s capability to suppose deeply, suppose critically, which all the time consists of self-critically, as a result of we’re fallible.”
George wrapped up by including one final remark, in regards to the difficulties of instructing: “I would much rather my students be ignorant than be indoctrinated. If they’re ignorant, I’ll be able to teach them something. If they’re indoctrinated before I can ever teach them something, I’ve got to pry open their minds with a crowbar.”
