Author Description

A democracy must tolerate many points of view without becoming divided. Therefore, public educators and the communities they serve are challenged to help students understand political and religious issues without proselytizing. This handbook provides guidelines for beginning the journey toward common ground, for moving from a climate of antagonism to one of national civility. It offers suggestions for modifying personal agendas and seeking common ground built on what a community wants from its schools. Chapter 1 describes the author's experiences as a school board member for the Littleton, Colorado, Public Schools. Chapter 2 describes the political process; specifically, it describes the slow rate at which educational change occurs and identifies key advocacy groups. Chapter 3 offers guidelines for clarifying issues and analyzing their drawbacks and benefits. Suggestions for generating respectful and inclusive community debate are offered in the fourth chapter. It details ground rules for conducting effective community meetings and working with the media. The final chapter examines ways to create and sustain common ground by looking for shared concerns and develop requirements for implementation. (LMI)