Calming the Culture Wars in our Schools with Journalist Monica Guzman (Ep. 9)

In the end, nobody wins the culture wars, says journalist Monica Guzman. The surprising key to overcoming these conflicts is to become curious rather than confrontational — to reframe the us/them confusion with complexity. Guzman also urges us to reject the easy answers — the sense of certainty many of us feel that we have all of the answers and they don’t. Becoming curious means, we must become better listeners. Real listening, Guzman says, demonstrates that we understand and care about what others are thinking. Too often, we’re only interested in conveying what we believe and trying to win arguments. When we listen, people begin to open up and take risks, and that’s when real progress is made. Tune in to hear more of what Guzman thinks will enable us to escape the toxic divides over our schools.

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