Students Are Learning to Argue Better - Adults Should Take Their Lead

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Better Arguments Project encourages middle and high school students to have more arguments – and have them more productively through a six-session curriculum released in March.

The Project is a national civic initiative created to help people bridge divides – not by papering over them, but by arguing through them. The new curriculum, tailored to middle and high school students, leads them through exercises on how to engage more productively and empathetically with those with whom they disagree. The curriculum can be used as a supplemental resource in civics classes, history courses, social and emotional learning programs, and other disciplines. The Better Arguments Project is a partnership between the Aspen Institute, Facing History and Ourselves, and Allstate; funding for the school curriculum was made possible by the Bezos Family Foundation.

"We have already seen changes in the way our students approach everyday adversity – finding ways to raise issues with staff and resolving issues among each other," says Jesse Owens Community Academy Teacher Willie Williams. "The curriculum has opened their eyes and offered them a new way forward that will help them contribute even more to society in the future."

The Better Arguments Project began in 2017, guided by the belief that finding healthier ways to disagree is an essential means of combatting polarization. In practice, that means arguments don't have to drive us apart, but can help bring us closer together. The framework for how to debate productively and empathetically was developed in partnership with advisors and communities across the country, and the learnings have been translated for students in the new school curriculum.

This fall, the curriculum was piloted at schools in Harlem, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Charlottesville Virginia; and Bismarck, North Dakota. After receiving feedback from the educators who used the curriculum in their classrooms, the resource has been updated for public use.

Click here to access the updated curriculum and to learn more about how our framework for civic discourse applies to the educational context.

SOURCE Allstate Insurance Company

Related Links

https://www.allstate.com

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