The Louise Shonk Kelly Recital Hall, where we gather each day for Morning Meeting, sometimes pulsates with the learned spirit of The Lyceum, that hallowed gymnasium of Athens where Aristotle engaged students in philosophical debate and reflection. 

This past Monday, students on a committee tasked with designing community agreements and building resources for having meaningful dialogue around the upcoming presidential election resuscitated a crucial distinction first formulated by Aristotle in the Rhetoric, his treatise on the art of persuasion. Like Aristotle, these students drew distinction between rhetorical speech, which attempts to persuade, sometimes forcefully, and genuine dialogue that can support pluralized and even opposed viewpoints without demanding the triumph of any single perspective over others. In favor of the latter, these students shared five ‘tips’ for navigating political dialogue during this election season - read on! 

Five ‘tips and tricks’ for having meaningful conversations during this election season as formulated by students on our Election Committee: 

Aaron M. says… Join the committee, join a conversation, and do so with respect; challenge the idea and not the person

Sarah M. encourages us to… Enter conversations curious/open-mindedness to learn, not just to argue; people's views are formed by many different factors

Owen L. reminds us that… The point of engaging should not be simply to convince - it is not your job to tell other people what they should believe; self-educate, and if you are educated, you are not required to educate others

Everett S. says… Ask for consent to engage in a conversation / be mindful of what you need for yourself - you may disengage, and you don’t have to discuss every topic; call a timeout if a discussion gets heated, ask for space and time 

Tyreis M. calls on us to… Shift away from extremes and politics of “identity” to really delve into the different policy perspectives and how each could have an impact on our lives

Taken together, these five agreements become a framework for having potentially incendiary conversations without lacerating the fabric of the school community. This has been top-of-mind for students and educators at Dublin School during the first few weeks of the ‘24-’25 academic year. Part of what sustains Dublin as a dynamic and exciting learning community is the possibility of having actual dialogue that tests our capacity for critical reasoning and reflection, and challenges us to think beyond received truths and conventional wisdom, at the very least, to become sensitive listeners. 

Ideas and concepts are held in common, they are a shared resource, like the roads we drive on everyday. And as with roads, we must sometimes give way, exercise patience, check our frustration, and keep the lane open for future traffic and conversations. Each of us places a different slant on the concepts we rely upon for communication, and ideas means something slightly different to each of us. The “cat” envisioned in my mind’s eye (orange, tiger stripped) no doubt differs from that which you envision. In some instances, an overlapping consensus of sorts may emerge (we can all spot a cat when we see one), though it’s a pretend consensus insofar as it smooths out the intrinsically contested nature of concepts and ideas. 

The guidelines above take a different tact, acknowledging there may be moments where imperfectly shared ideas and concepts cannot be happily reconciled. Acknowledging that such limitations sometimes complicate dialogue, Dublin students have at the same time expressed a commitment to carrying on these conversations. This is perhaps where Dublin School exceeds The Lyceum, for even Aristotle's view of dialogue (what he called dialectic) describes a movement through which different and opposing ideas are finally synthesized into a unified, coherent, monovocal truth. As citizens of a polyvocal, thoroughly pluralistic society, Dublin students have instead affirmed difference as something that can and should be preserved. Dialogue, instead of a dance towards ultimate consensus, is for Dublin students a vehicle for meaningful connection to others predicated on respect for difference in perspective and opinion.

Article by Liam Sullivan