Colleges Must Do More to Help Students Manage Conflict and Have Civil Debate
Posted by U.S. News & World Report on March 26, 2024
At a time when our nation is more divided than ever, it’s on university leaders to teach students to engage respectfully – for the good of our campuses and our country says Jonathan Koppell, President of Montclair State University.
Today’s students are some of the most remarkable and resilient that I’ve seen in my career as a higher education leader. Faced with more twists and turns than any generation in recent memory, they remain optimistic, hungry and ready to make a difference.
But despite this self-assurance, there’s one major concern that looms as a challenge for this cohort: the ability to constructively manage conflict.
It’s been widely discussed that the pandemic generation suffered enormous learning setbacks around the world. But perhaps even more alarming is how quickly they fell behind in developing the interpersonal skills that are so important for living and working alongside one another. On college campuses, we witness the effects on a daily basis, with many of our students finding it hard to constructively advocate for what they need or to deal with disagreements in a solutions-oriented manner. The result is a worrisome rise in student conflicts on campus.
How did we get here? Today’s students have emerged as adults in a distinct environment for several big reasons.
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