The third and last U.S. presidential debate takes place Wednesday. The earlier debates were marked by political nastiness that many historians say is at its worst level in years. Some teachers, however, are working to make debates less angry. They are teaching their students about civil discourse. VOA recently visited an 8th grade civics class at Bluestone Middle School in Skipwith, a small town in southern Virginia near the border with North Carolina. In the class, students are learning to disagree without being disagreeable. “So, this might be a little bit of a heavy discussion this morning.” Stephanie Leichty’s class is going to debate a divisive issue, the result of mass shootings at schools: “Whether or not you honestly think that teachers should be armed.” The issue divides politicians, friends, families and neighbors. Rather than talk about it calmly and with an open mind, Americans often decide issues based on their political beliefs. They might agree with the opinions of a political leader before examining the issue thoroughly.
Title: Schools Teaching More Effective Ways to Argue
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/effective_ways_to_argue.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Schools Teaching More Effective Ways to Argue' data-article-id='1960'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='5479'>The third and last U.S. presidential debate takes place Wednesday.</span> <span data-start-time='5479' data-end-time='16063'>The earlier debates were marked by political nastiness that many historians say is at its worst level in years.</span> <span data-start-time='16063' data-end-time='21854'>Some teachers, however, are working to make debates less angry.</span> <span data-start-time='21854' data-end-time='27833'>They are teaching their students about civil discourse.</span> <span data-start-time='27833' data-end-time='42333'>VOA recently visited an 8th grade civics class at Bluestone Middle School in Skipwith, a small town in southern Virginia near the border with North Carolina.</span> <span data-start-time='42333' data-end-time='49833'>In the class, students are learning to disagree without being disagreeable.</span> <span data-start-time='49833' data-end-time='53458'>“So, this might be a little bit of a heavy discussion this morning.”</span> <span data-start-time='53458' data-end-time='62792'>Stephanie Leichty’s class is going to debate a divisive issue, the result of mass shootings at schools:</span> <span data-start-time='62792' data-end-time='68375'>“Whether or not you honestly think that teachers should be armed.”</span> <span data-start-time='68375' data-end-time='75000'>The issue divides politicians, friends, families and neighbors.</span> <span data-start-time='75000' data-end-time='86208'>Rather than talk about it calmly and with an open mind, Americans often decide issues based on their political beliefs.</span> <span data-start-time='86208' data-end-time='95292'>They might agree with the opinions of a political leader before examining the issue thoroughly.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/effective_ways_to_argue.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=7456 data-hint-location='21854' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/what_does_civil_discourse_mean.m4a'>What does civil discourse mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='the act of politely using words to exchange thoughts and ideas'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/a_type_of_law_.m4a'><span>a type of law </span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/the_act_of_politely_using_words_to_exchange_thoughts_and_ideas.m4a'><span>the act of politely using words to exchange thoughts and ideas</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/to_be_very_rude_to_someone.m4a'><span>to be very rude to someone</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/to_be_rash_with_decisions.m4a'><span>to be rash with decisions</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=7457 data-hint-location='5479' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/what_are_historians_saying_has_been_at_its_worst_level_in_years_.m4a'>What are historians saying has been at its worst level in years? </div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='political nastiness'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/debate_viewership.m4a'><span>debate viewership</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/kindness.m4a'><span>kindness</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/political_nastiness.m4a'><span>political nastiness</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/political_rigging.m4a'><span>political rigging</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=7458 data-hint-location='16063' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/some_teachers_however_are_working_to_make_debates_less__blank_.m4a'>Some teachers, however, are working to make debates less <span class='blank'>angry</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='angry'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/happy.m4a'><span>happy</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/angry.m4a'><span>angry</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/political_nastiness.m4a'><span>political nastiness</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1456/fun.m4a'><span>fun</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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