Conversation Guides

American political leaders of all kinds throughout history have pointed out that American identity revolves around a common set of ideals – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In his most famous speech, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described America’s creed as an unfulfilled “promissory note” based on the idea that everyone deserves freedom, fairness, and equal opportunity to pursue happiness and advancement. People of good will often fundamentally agree, yet we struggle to find ways to effectively work together.

In this conversation, you and other participants will explore questions around America’s common identity, as well as the diverse composition of the American citizenry.  By practicing the conversation agreements and sticking to the three-round structure, you’ll learn more about how you and your peers think about whether America today is more of a melting pot, a salad bowl, or something else!

What is free speech, why is it important, and when is it OK to limit free speech? With today's technology, it is easier than ever to practice free speech by connecting with our friends, blasting our thoughts and feelings out over social media, and posting the views of others. How can we best protect free speech? How do we know the difference between disagreeing, bullying, and hate speech? Should free speech guidelines be different for adults and kids? Why or why not?

In this conversation, you and other participants will explore questions around free speech. By practicing the conversation agreements and sticking to the three-round structure, you’ll learn more about how you and your peers think about the importance of free speech and the responsibilities we all face around it.

News and an independent press are a crucial part of a healthy democracy. The electorate needs good information to make informed decisions. What are the consequences of having fake news in our news mix? What is fake news? Is it possible to identify fake news so that consumers recognize it as such? Do we have a healthy media culture, and if not, what would a healthy media culture look like? What are our own responsibilities to achieve this?

In this conversation, you and other participants will explore questions around the media, labeling of news content as “fake news,” and the role media play in shaping our democracy. By practicing the conversation agreements and sticking to the three-round structure, you’ll learn more about how you and your peers think about the role and reliability of news in our lives today.

We shape our world through relationships. Most people agree we want classrooms and communities where all people have dignity and respect. Yet respectful interactions are often not what we see modeled in the media and in politics. Far too many people feel disrespected in their lives. What can we do about this?  

In this conversation, you and other participants will explore questions around relationships, respecting differences, and resolving problems. By practicing the conversation agreements and sticking to the three-round structure, you’ll learn more about how you and your peers think about the importance of putting relationships first.

We are in an age of wonder and amazement with technology. It can go anywhere with us, and we can be reachable at any time. We use technology to learn in classrooms; order our groceries; navigate our cities; keep up with breaking news; and connect with friends, family members, politicians, and faith-based communities. Moreover, we are now always reachable and can respond immediately to that beeping, buzzing, and ringing of texts, emails, and phone calls. We are now accustomed to the reward that we feel when our phones ring or ping us with a new message, and that makes us want more. Some have even suggested that technology is controlling us, like an addiction. 

In this conversation, you and other participants will explore questions around our increasingly digital society and how it is helping and/or hurting us. By practicing the conversation agreements and sticking to the three-round structure, you’ll learn more about how you and your peers think about the role of technology in our lives today.

2018 was a midterm election year. 2014 was the lowest midterm election voter turnout since WWII. Turnout of the voting-eligible population in 2014 was just 36.4 percent, according to the projection from the United States Elections Project. What is it about voting that inspires citizens of voting age to participate or turn away, feeling it’s not worth the effort? In this conversation, we talk about what leads to people’s decisions around voting.

In this conversation, you and other participants will explore questions around voting, the forces that encourage or discourage voting, and our responsibilities as citizens in a democracy.  By practicing the conversation agreements and sticking to the three-round structure, you’ll learn more about how you and your peers think about whether “to vote or not to vote” among those who are eligible to do so.