Like Saint Ignacy helps my high school students talk about the presidential election

How will my seniors approach this year’s presidential election? This was the question I asked myself in the fall of 2020 as I prepared to engage 20 high school students in a week of discussion and analysis of our electoral process and electoral college system. I taught a course that explored the political theory and everyday practice that guide the daily operations of our government and shape our public policy.

Of course, autumn 2020 was a very demanding period not only in our country, but also in the world. The Covid-19 pandemic was raging and our school, Fairfield College Preparatory in Connecticut, was about to begin operating on a hybrid learning schedule in which half of the class participated in online classes and half was present in person each day. Trying to engage my students in meaningful dialogue was almost impossible, so I decided to take a more reflective approach.

I wanted to teach these young men how to better listen to each other. We wouldn’t achieve anything if they had to shut up every time they heard something they didn’t agree with. My training as a spiritual director helped me with this. I started with St. Ignatius of Loyola and his premise which urges us to be “more ready to interpret correctly another’s statement than to condemn it as false” (Spiritual ExercisesNo. 22). Given that Fairfield Prep was on a hybrid schedule due to the pandemic, I would pair the student who was in class with someone who was on Zoom. This was an attempt to make those at home feel truly part of the classroom discussion. I received very positive opinions from both students and parents. Students appreciated this opportunity to engage in a meaningful conversation and felt heard. Parents, some of whom listened to their son’s conversation with his classmates, reported hearing respectful conversations.

Using Ignatius’s tenets as a foundation, the class engaged in small group spiritual conversation. This meant that each student could share their thoughts and perspective without immediate reaction or even interruption by their peers. Each student had to really listen to each member of their group. They internalized what they heard and then in their subsequent responses shared what they noticed as typical movements in their small group. In the final phase of these spiritual conversations, we had very lively but civilized discussions as a whole class.

My students’ political leanings reflected their social leanings. Their political views were equally polarized. I had students who fell far to the right on the political spectrum and some who fell far to the left. I had very few students who classified themselves as independent. So when it came time to engage the entire class, a healthy debate ensued. In particular, when the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court was announced in late September 2020, less than 40 days before the election, students discussed the pros and cons of pushing or withholding a Supreme Court nomination and compared the situation to the nomination of Merrick Garland in the 2016 election year .

Another resource that I found helpful in teaching during the 2020 election cycle was: “Contemplation and Political Action: An Ignatian Guide to Civic Engagement,” produced by the Jesuit Conference of the United States and Canada. As the document states in its introduction: “The document is a reflection of how our faith and Ignatian values ​​can guide our pursuit of the common good in public spaces.”

This document is not a voter guide; rather, it looks at our common political life through the prism of Ignatian spirituality. One of the questions we pondered was, “How am I called to live my faith publicly?” and “How can Ignatian spirituality and discernment guide my participation in civic life?”

We talked about what it means to be a “man for others” in the context of civic engagement and civic discourse. Students talked about putting the feelings and points of view of others before their own. We talked about how they could exercise their civic duty even if they couldn’t vote. Several volunteered for some local political campaigns, and one interned for a state senator.

My students talked about the pressure they felt to vote a certain way because of their parents’ political views. Many people have expressed a lack of trust in the media, especially when it comes to political coverage.

Together with the head of the History Department, we established a special task to check media coverage of the elections; this continued throughout the first 100 days of the Biden administration. Students were asked to examine possible bias, how it shapes policy and how it relates to truth.

The students’ task was to look at media reports from various sources, not just from their preferred political point of view. One student commented that he felt “uncomfortable” watching coverage from a media source that was contrary to his political viewpoint. He, like many other students, realized how different the news reported by Fox News or MSNBC could be.

The idea of ​​Ignatian discernment was somewhat foreign to my students, so going through this process with this group of students was a worthwhile endeavor. I deeply believe that the difficult decisions that civic life calls us to make can benefit from Ignatian discernment. After my students, especially those who voted in the elections for the first time, I felt that it would not be an easy decision.

So we discussed this aspect of Ignatian discernment, taken from our study guide: “True discernment requires us to cultivate our relationship with Christ in the deepest part of ourselves.” The spiritual conversation process helped my students listen from many different perspectives. This helped them determine who they should listen to and make sure they included God in the conversation.

Now, in 2024, we are fully immersed in another contentious election cycle. In many ways, this time seems even more challenging. So how do we approach election season here at Fairfield Prep? Each academic year we choose a topic. This year’s theme of our school is “Our Common Home”. We approach the topic through two pillars: “Care for Creation” and “Civic Discourse and Civic Engagement”. As we prepare our students for this crucial period, it is important that we keep the framework in mind Ignatian spiritual conversation: speak slowly; listen carefully; look for truth in what others say; disagree with humility and respect and give the necessary time.