Lifelong educator and Braver Angels volunteer Mary Thomas-Vallens gets more hopeful about America’s political future when she’s working with teens.
“I’m fired up every time I talk to them,” she tells How Do We Fix It?. “I am their biggest cheerleader.”
In this episode we also hear from Braver Teens, the youngest members of the bridging movement that works to depolarize politics and work across rigid divides. “They’re showing incredible courage because they’re stepping away from the outrage”, says Mary. They’re “acting instead of silencing themselves”. Young people can also bring remarkable passion, energy, and social media savvy to campaigns and events.
We discuss how members of Braver Angels can learn from teenagers, and what high school students get from working with adults. In a time of deep partisan divisions, cancel culture, and online shaming, how can 15, 16, and 17-year-olds help adults change our definition of citizenship?
We hear from Jenna Freeman, Seraphine Chen, and Mia Dougherty, three of the Braver Teens who made presentations at the most recent Braver Angels National Convention. They are planning to set up a new website to help other teens set up workshops and discussion groups at their high schools.
“I came into this expecting to learn about leadership and politics. I did, but I also learned that most of my assumptions about people weren’t based on experiences. They were based on distance”, says Jenna Freeman of her in-person conversations with fellow students from different political backgrounds. “Understanding people doesn’t require agreeing with them, but just being willing to know them.”
Mary Thomas-Vallens is a lifelong educator with extensive experience in curriculum and staff development. She was a public school teacher for 41 years and taught graduate-level courses at Chapman and Concordia Universities. She has led workshops exploring the teacher behaviors and questions that best foster students' intrinsic motivation, critical and creative thinking, and academic and interpersonal success. Today, she co-facilitates the Moderator Forums and leads the BA Education Community Network. Mary loves engaging others through workshops and encouraging high schoolers to be "Braver Teens."
Read more here: "Braver Angels really helped me see the humanity from the other side: One high schooler's journey to better political conversations", by Gabriella Kearns.