Yale alumni discuss navigating election in education
Panelists delved into civic education, voter participation and democratic values, offering Yale students and educators insights ahead of the upcoming election.
Ellie Park, Multimedia Managing Editor
As the 2024 election approaches, Yale Alumni Educators and Yale International Alliance hosted a webinar on Tuesday aiming to equip students and educators with tools to help them navigate the complexities of democracy and civic discussions.
The webinar titled “Navigating the Election with Students & Educating for American Democracy,” featured Louise Dubé SOM ’88, CEO of iCivics, Jane Kamensky ’85 GRD ’90 ’93, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and Peter Levine ’89, professor at Tufts University. Mike Fishback ’01, social studies department chair at Almaden Country Day School, moderated the event.
“This is our democracy, not just mine,” said Dubé. “The skills to find common ground are teachable, and we need to invest in building civic knowledge and skills.”
The webinar covered several key topics, including the teaching and learning opportunities that arise from the election, strategies for managing civil disagreement and the importance of fostering reflective patriotism while avoiding cynicism.
Panelists also discussed ways children can actively practice democracy in their classrooms and the role compromise plays in civic life. Finally, they addressed the importance of evaluating and trusting news sources, emphasizing critical thinking and informed engagement with the media.
Fishback emphasized the need for educators and parents to feel confident in discussing the complexities of the upcoming 2024 election with students.
“The webinar aims to connect teachers and parents with Yale alumni whose professional work focuses on responsive, meaningful civics education,” he said. “The 2024 election season is a particularly important time to engage students with the world around them and help them practice vital life skills.”
Kamensky stressed the role of inquiry in civics education, especially in the current climate.
She added that by encouraging students to approach the election with a questioning mindset, educators can foster a deeper understanding of democracy and help students avoid the pitfalls of cynicism.
“Educating for American democracy centers on inquiry: learning by asking questions, finding robust sources of information to answer them, and testing how well those answers hold up,” Kamensky said.
Levine tackled the challenge of helping educators maintain a balanced classroom while fostering civil discourse. He believes that while teachers should not be neutral about everything, they should stay nonpartisan and “uplift ideas that might be neglected.”
Levine emphasized that preparation and experience are essential for educators to successfully navigate political controversies in the classroom, offering students a space for respectful, honest dialogue about the election, especially given the particularly close and contentious nature of the election.
The current FiveThirtyEight polling average has former President Donald Trump at 45 percent and Vice President Kamala Harris at 48 percent.