A popular high school club, Project TALK, is back on campus this fall to practice and promote civil discourse.
Ensworth students and Dr. Rich Milner, a Distinguished Professor of Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt, developed this program at Ensworth about ten years ago. The club serves to help students learn how to engage in civil discourse, particularly when it comes to issues and topics that are potentially divisive.
Students are not expected to agree, and no promotion or penalization for partisan views occur. High school student facilitators have been trained to lead discussions without adults in the room so that students feel comfortable enough to share what is really on their minds and in their hearts. These conversations help foster empathy and a better understanding of the human experience.
Project TALK has two upcoming events:
Protect & Serve Tuesday, October 6, 12:30 - 1:00 p.m. Informal discussion through the lens of four Nashville Police Officers in an interview with David Whitfield and Ensworth students.
Shut up and Dribble: The evolving role of the black athlete Wednesday, October 7, 12:30 p.m. Zoom conversation with Charles Davis and Andrew Maraniss
View the student-produced video of the resurrection of Project TALK below.