High-schoolers get face time with extremists in class

Last week's videotaped encounter at the Lincoln Memorial left many wondering about the state of reasoned political discourse in the country, or if it exists at all in a hyperpartisan era of red "Make America Great Again" hats versus pink women's march caps.

In a video from January 18, a group of boys from Kentucky's Covington Catholic High School, a Native American activist and a cluster of Black Hebrew Israelites faced off in an uncomfortable confrontation that spread online and in the media.

It has prompted national debate about both civility in politics, the seeming lack of tolerance for those of differing political beliefs and how both are influencing the nation's youth.

That debate sounded all-too-familiar to Ohio social studies teacher Judy Galasso, who has taught a class on political radicalism for three decades now.

"If someone's yelling things at you, if you're presented with groups that you disagree with, my hope is that we train our kids well enough that they're not going to react," Galasso said.

Galasso and co-teacher Jonathan Duffy invite members of America's most extreme political groups from the National Socialist Movement to the Weather Underground, from the Revolutionary Communists to the Tea Party into their classroom each semester.

They teach students to engage respectfully with those of differing beliefs and to ask questions.

The Covington Catholic incident has seemed to further divide the nation. Parents, alumni and others have rallied to the white teenagers' defense and, in a tweet, President Donald Trump called the students "symbols of Fake News and how evil it can be." Others largely supported the Native American activist, describing him as a victim of racism and white entitlement.

In Galasso and Duffy's class, no one shies away from such political discomfort.

"In 2019, our teachers generally are like, 'You know what? Let's redirect to a different topic, because that one sounds like it's loaded with land mines," said Pete Skully, principal of Thomas Worthington High School, where Galasso teaches.

"The idea of poli-rad is, you know what, let's explore all those land mines and talk about them."
"Sure, it might make some parents uncomfortable, but the class isn't radicalizing students; it's teaching students about radicalization, which is pretty important. I mean, look at the context that we're living in today."
"In 1984, Worthington was much more homogenous that it is right now," Keegan said. "So part of that class was just sort of pointing out, 'Hey, guess what? Not everybody thinks like you, looks like you, talks like you."
"One thing we teach kids when speakers come in is to truly listen to what they're saying," Duffy said, "and just because they think they know what this individual believes, you still have to listen and accurately reflect."