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We know there’s a better way — for one thing, we’ve seen some great demonstrations in Alberta classrooms. To begin with, we call upon Alberta’s adults to deal with the outpourings of passionate, concerned youth as any good educator would, whether they are from Sweden or St. Albert. Take some time to practise the lost art of listening, bring compassion and kindness, make it a real conversation, and — possibly — allow yourself to be moved by and learn from their arguments.

Invite them to speak at your meetings, even though you don’t agree with everything they say; and it makes sense for them to invite you in, too, so they can begin to understand your point of view. When we listen, we can discover shared values and how each side of the debate can do more. Do better.

Would you like your kid to be in a classroom where this kind of empathy is practised? Thought so. We need to get better at empathy, but the list doesn’t end there. We need to avoid stereotyping: as the philosopher Kierkegaard said: “If you name me, you negate me.” (and yes, we got that little gem from the Wayne’s World movie. Thanks, Wayne).

Critical thinking is key: we need to scrutinize our information sources, consider various viewpoints, and look beyond what politicians and influencers say to determine if they’re trying to make the world a better place, or just appealing to their base. Critical thinking is central to our education system so when students practise it, and challenge some adult-made decisions, it falls to us adults to do some hard listening. We might learn something.