At a time when most independent schools are significantly resourcing and prioritizing efforts toward diversity, equity, and inclusion, one form of diversity that is often ignored is ideological diversity. For the past four years, Seniors at BB&N have taken a seminar during their Senior Spring Project entitled "Beyond Our Echo Chambers: Understanding the Other." This seminar, which meets for 90 minutes per week for 10 weeks, involves a virtual exchange between BB&N students and student members of the teenage Republican club in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Borrowing from the methodology of Braver Angels, a national non-profit devoted to cultivating critical dialogue between "Reds" and "Blues," the students move through a series of exercises leading up examination of issues such as abortion, immigration, gun control, Critical Race Theory, Black Lives Matter, climate change, LGBTQIA+ rights, etc. The goal is to practice civil discourse, to humanize the other, and to expand our perspectives beyond our immediate echo chambers. Come to this session to learn more about this approach and how you might incorporate elements in your own school contexts.
