Schools and campuses have often been the battleground for American culture wars. From debates about teaching evolution to racial segregation, interested parties with diverging ideologies have sought to influence school curricula, policies, and practices. These ideological tensions show up as efforts to ban books and disqualify curricular resources containing disputed subject matter. Schools have fired educators from both sides of the political spectrum for expressing political views in the classroom and on social media.

Is there a better way for us to navigate our disagreements? At the Constructive Dialogue Institute, our goal is to help people communicate across lines of difference and work together to solve complex problems. In today’s political climate, divisions may feel insurmountable. But the results from our new online learning program suggest there is reason for hope.