{"id":164860,"date":"2020-10-02T09:19:41","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T13:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?post_type=school-college-post&p=164860"},"modified":"2020-10-02T09:19:41","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T13:19:41","slug":"talking-kids-dysfunctional-presidential-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2020\/10\/talking-kids-dysfunctional-presidential-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking to Kids About the Dysfunctional Presidential Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: The following originally\u00a0appeared on Psychology Today<\/a>, where Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor <\/i>Sandra Chafouleas<\/a> launched a new blog<\/a><\/em>\u00a0this past summer.\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that was worse than our seventh-grade mock debate.\u201d That\u2019s what our 14-year-old said after Tuesday night\u2019s presidential debate, which had been assigned by the high school politics<\/a> teacher to watch and analyze. I murmured agreement as I wasn\u2019t quite sure what else to say at the moment \u2014 but woke up the next morning wondering how that ninth-grade teacher was going to handle a class discussion about the debate. Clearly, there was more to talk about beyond the specific campaign issues.<\/p>\n

News headlines seem to suggest consensus about how bad the debate was, some deeming it the worst in presidential history and an embarrassment<\/a> to society. The theme of many stories covering the event can be summed up in a single word: dysfunction. Dysfunctional debates are characterized by not listening, jumping in and cutting<\/a> others off, grandstanding, boasting, using sarcastic or biting tones, and not acknowledging others.<\/p>\n

To move forward with our kids, we first need to address the mess that happened this week. We must talk about what happened during this debate of dysfunction, using it as a prime\u00a0non-example (what not to do) of healthy debate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In contrast, healthy debates are characterized by a focus on the issue over the person, seeking other points of view, questioning over lecturing, clearing up points of confusion, and following the set ground rules or norms.\u00a0Now it was becoming clear to me why I had that nagging feeling about how to proceed in talking about the debate with our kids. Putting the political issues aside, the debate brought to light critical lessons about civility \u2014\u00a0a key piece to social and emotional well-being.<\/p>\n

Civility<\/a>\u00a0is about courtesy in our speech and behavior. The purpose of civics education<\/a> is to teach students about how democratic processes work and how to productively take part in them. According to a\u00a02018 report by the Brookings Institute<\/a>, civics education outlines a set of practices intended to support students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to engage in American democracy. Recommended classroom practices include studying such topics as government and current events, but also simulating democratic processes as well as social-emotional learning.<\/p>\n

Yes, social and emotional learning is tied to civics. Social-emotional learning is the process through which individuals \u201cunderstand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals<\/a>, feel and show empathy<\/a> for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions,\u201d per the\u00a0Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning<\/a>\u00a0(CASEL). This learning is pretty important throughout life \u2013 it\u2019s tied not only to students\u2019 success in school, but also lifetime outcomes such as graduation rates, emotional distress, and economic mobility.<\/p>\n

Civics education that includes debate provides a powerful opportunity to learn about, practice, and receive feedback on social and emotional skills. The challenge is to ensure healthy debate skills \u2013 the opposite of what our kids watched this week.<\/p>\n

To move forward with our kids, we first need to address the mess that happened this week. We must talk about what happened during this debate of dysfunction, using it as a prime\u00a0non-example (what not to do) of healthy debate. We also need to push for more civics education in school, teaching our kids the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they will need to be healthy debaters as adults. Actively embedding social and emotional learning within existing structures for teaching debate is important for all students.<\/p>\n

Families (as well as teachers) might consider a couple of possible approaches:<\/p>\n