| Although debate and disagreement are often intrinsic, and arguably necessary, elements of the democratic process, plenty of evidence suggests that people are ill-equipped to engage in debates about politics. Engaging in political debates requires skills such as tolerance for diverse opinions, tolerance for ambiguity, maintaining a certain level of curiosity, as well as the ability to analyze and critique competing arguments. If it is true that these skills are necessary to engaging in the political process, to what extent do our schools help teach and encourage civic skills? Drawing upon a mixed methods approach to a study of a small sample of local high schools and their students, I argue that there are significant differences in the degree to which high schools encourage the acquisition of these skills. More specifically, variation in the proportion of minorities present in the classroom and in the homogeneity of the school population contributes to varied degrees of exposure to the norms and practice of deliberation in the classroom. The level of course sophistication (i.e., standard or Advanced Placement) and the openness of the class climate influence how students understand citizenship, how broadly and deeply engaged they are, and how they approach political discourse. As a result, some people will enter adulthood relatively well-prepared to engage more deeply in the democratic process, whereas others will begin with insufficient skills or awareness of the benefits derived from such engagement. |
