Preparing today’s students to ease tomorrow’s political polarization
The Challenge
Polarization has scarred the country and complicated our daily lives. Many of us feel estranged from those across the political or ideological divide. It’s tough to make progress toward solving our shared challenges.
The Solution
Today’s students deserve to learn the skills they will need to reach across the divide. This learning begins with the adults in their lives, who must themselves discover how to model bridge-building behavior.
"Amazing communication skills, deep knowledge of how to engage a specific audience." (Attendee, RPCS Presentation)
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"Thank you for a really thoughtful, thorough, thought-provoking workshop." Attendee, ISACS Workshop
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"Amazing! My favorite speaker ever, and I'm 65 years old!" Attendee, Thayer Academy Presentation
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"Kent, I love your energy-- excellent job!!" Attendee, Berwick Academy Presentation
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"Amazing! My favorite speaker ever, and I'm 65 years old!" Attendee, Thayer Academy Presentation
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"Really engaging. Felt you presented clearly and without bias."
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"Kent, I love your energy-- excellent job!!" Attendee, Berwick Academy Presentation
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"Thank you for a really thoughtful, thorough, thought-provoking workshop." Attendee, ISACS Workshop
〰️
"Amazing communication skills, deep knowledge of how to engage a specific audience." (Attendee, RPCS Presentation) 〰️ "Thank you for a really thoughtful, thorough, thought-provoking workshop." Attendee, ISACS Workshop 〰️ "Amazing! My favorite speaker ever, and I'm 65 years old!" Attendee, Thayer Academy Presentation 〰️ "Kent, I love your energy-- excellent job!!" Attendee, Berwick Academy Presentation 〰️ "Amazing! My favorite speaker ever, and I'm 65 years old!" Attendee, Thayer Academy Presentation 〰️ "Really engaging. Felt you presented clearly and without bias." 〰️ "Kent, I love your energy-- excellent job!!" Attendee, Berwick Academy Presentation 〰️ "Thank you for a really thoughtful, thorough, thought-provoking workshop." Attendee, ISACS Workshop 〰️
Teaching tip for the week of March 31, 2025:
Student leadership training—new for 2025
Teach media literacy.
It’s really important that we educators understand what our students are consuming online and how that content fuels polarization and extremism. Once we understand that, it’s crucial that we teach kids how to question the media they are ingesting. Click below to read about my experience following Charlie Kirk videos on YouTube.
Course material
Faculty reading
“An outstanding contribution to the field— one of the best education books of the year.”
