How to Foster Courageous Dialogue in Schools

Four young adults are seated around a table in a bright, modern room with large windows, engaged in discussion or collaborative work, with backpacks on the floor and papers spread out on the table.

  • Venue: Online via Zoom
  • Date: March 7, 2022
  • Time: 4-5:15pm PT/7-8:15pm ET
  • Price: Free, registration required

At a time of increased polarization and conflict in schools, how can we develop the skills and habits of mind to engage in open, honest, and respectful conversations with our colleagues, students, and their families?

Join us on Monday, March 7 from 4:00 - 5:15pm Pacific Time/7:00 - 8:15pm Eastern Time for a live webinar How to Foster Courageous Dialogue in Schools featuring a panel discussion with courage-focused educators and students. 

You will

  • Meet and learn from courage research experts and practitioners, Karen Bohlin and Barbara Whitlock, creators of the Courageous Dialogue Toolkit
  • Learn about the Toolkit’s tips, strategies, and conversation guidelines
  • Hear directly from 12th grade students who have put courage into action as they share how they are finding courage in 2022
  • Headshot of Karen Deardorf

    Dr. Karen E. Bohlin is Director of the Practical Wisdom Project at the Abigail Adams Institute in Cambridge, MA and a thought leader in character education and applied virtue ethics. Her work focuses on teaching leaders to develop the practical wisdom they need to shape formative institutions committed to flourishing and performance. 
     
    A veteran school leader who has taught at both the secondary and university level, she is also founder and Director Emerita of the LifeCompass Institute for Character and Leadership at Montrose School. Former Director of Boston University’s Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character, Dr. Bohlin is a Senior Scholar at BU's Center for Character and Social Responsibility and has served as an advisor and professional development provider at the state, national and international level. Most recently she served as co-director of the Kern Partners in Character & Educational Leadership (KPCEL). She is the author and contributing author of several articles and books including Teaching Character Education Through Literature: Awakening the Moral Imagination (Routledge 2005), Building Character in Schools (Jossey-Bass 1999), and Happiness and Virtue: Beyond East and West: Toward a New Global Responsibility (Tuttle 2012).

  • Headshot of Barbara W

    Barbara Whitlock is in her tenth year teaching English and history at Montrose, and she serves as Director of Student Learning & Leadership, English Department and Humanities Coordinator and LifeCompass Institute Fellow. She also serves as club advisor to the student newspaper, creative writing club, and the Multicultural Club. Barbara earned her BA in Political Science and Journalism at Rider University, did graduate work in Political Philosophy at the University of Virginia, and is currently a Kern Family Foundation fellow studying for an MA in Character Education at the University of Birmingham (U.K.) in conjunction with the Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtue. She is nearing her third decade of teaching, including at Middlesex School, where she has lived with her husband and raised five daughters for the past 35 years.