The Civic (and Pedagogical) Virtue of Recognizing Reasonable Disagreement

This paper argues for civic education that helps students recognize that reasonable people will disagree about the best ways to live, and that this recognition should frequently impel us toward compromise and accommodation in the public square. Fostering this virtue of reasonable disagreement will require a concerted curricular effort toward mutual understanding and deliberative goodwill. Since conflicting ethical perspectives are often informed by religion, public schools should help students learn to engage thoughtfully and respectfully across these differences, rather than avoiding exploration of religious and other ethical perspectives. This in turn requires a conception of teacher education that extends beyond preservice preparation and emphasizes ongoing professional dialogue and collaboration.