FULLERTON, Calif. — Talking about politics isn’t something one just knows how to do, which is why at Cal State Fullerton credentialed student teachers are learning how to prepare their own students to discuss public issues. 

What You Need To Know

  • Cal State Fullerton offers class to credentialed student teachers preparing to foster civic discourse in their classrooms

  • Student teachers learn and go through activities to build conservation skills among students/peers who have different beliefs

  • 80% of U.S. adults believe Americans are greatly divided on the most important values, according to a 2024 Gallup News Poll

  • By preparing teachers to teach students how to identify biases and misinformation, the idea is it will lead to adults who will be more civically engaged 

“This is a specific framework. It’s a tool you’re going to take with you, a process,” said CSUF assistant professor of secondary education, William Toledo when speaking to his class full of future teachers. 

He is preparing teachers to facilitate what can be controversial political conversations in the classroom. 

“It’s a skill set that you have to build. So in our program, we give them practice with their peers to engage in frameworks that they can learn and then take into their classrooms,” said Toledo. 

That’s because unlike when most of these student teachers were attending school, high school teacher Naomi Chia said long gone are the days when politics were not brought up in the classroom. 

“Social media is now involved and kids kind of have an idea of where people stand, but they still don’t want to address it. So I think that’s something that we need to teach students,” said Chia. 

However, to teach their students, they have to first learn. Which is why Professor Toledo puts them through the same scenario they can later practice with their students.  

During class, they debated over healthy vending machine food options. It may not seem too controversial, but Professor Toledo said that is also the point. 

“It’s super important that we start with lower-level, less controversial issues just to build the capacity to talk across disagreement, to talk about public and civic issues. There’s an entry point where typically we’re not as closely tied to our views. There’s room for some movement which builds the capacity to move and shift our views on those bigger issues when we get to them, and we do build up to that,” said Toledo. 

He said classrooms are also the perfect place to start. 

“It’s to me at least a bit more of an organic group, right? They’re not already separated by interest or by job. It’s all just the people in that neighborhood. So it really gives you a space to connect students with people who feel differently, who live differently, who are different,” said Toledo. 

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Chia agrees, believing teachers are playing an important role in stopping the polarization the country is seeing. 

“I absolutely do think that teachers have the job to teach students how to be able to engage in civic discussions and rather than pulling away from each other on the spectrum, kind of come closer together and meet in the middle,” said Chia. 

She said it is less about where the students stand and more about having the ability to explain why. 

“It’s also placing an emphasis on fact. That’s also our goal as educators is to make sure that students know how to fact check using credible sources,” said Chia. 

All part of the toolbox to help teachers and students navigate civic discourse. 

“It lets them start to be like, ‘Oh wow, I can say and talk about things with people I disagree with,’” said Toledo. 

Working in the classroom to move toward a more connected society.