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.