Two Cheers for Office for Students for Supporting University Paper to Protect Legal Opposition (English universities prohibit the enforcement of the blanket forbidden by student protests, 18 June). I’m still going. All areas of study should offer the spaces in the dialogue so that sharing consultation can be a core component of educational experience. Students should be used in three skill sets for living in a polarized and disinformed culture.
First: Critical thinking – to evaluate ideas that are bad, to know rhetorical and disclose how biases think. Second: Dialogic Skundment – to experience the importance of hearing, and learning from, some of the world looks different. And third: helpful disagreement – to inquire of life experiences and cultural reasons that lead to people to hold positions opposite.
Involving the influences of the environment will challenge people to challenge motivated reasoning and raise free speech than to repair the received opinions.
Simon Keyes
Previous Professor of Reconciliation and Faith, University of Winchester
