Exploring Political Diversity in Communities
This activity from Facing History & Ourselves encourages secondary students to explore the meaning of community and the nature of politically diverse communities. Beneficial for teachers and teacher educators, the activity supports participants in conducting critical reflections and conversations on the challenges and opportunities that arise with the various political perspectives that exist in communities. This activity helps students consider building and sustaining a healthy community by setting explicit rules and democratic norms, engaging students in both silent small-group conversations and verbal large-group conversations, and participating in independent journal reflections. The activity builds on key questions such as: “What do you think it looks like for a community to include people with different political perspectives?” and “What do you think it takes to build and sustain a community?” This may be particularly useful to teachers in a time of political tension or conflict in a partner district or community.