Deborah Meier's conversation with Leo Casey of the Albert Shanker Institute continues today. 

Leo,

Politics has a bad reputation—as a word.  Too bad, since democracy requires politics. Acting "by, for, and of" doesn't play out easily and requires constant rethinking about trade-offs—which can turn into "bad politics" or  "good politics," depending on ...

Those intent upon potentially unpopular reforms have good reason to be in a hurry to make changes that will be hard to undo while they (however temporarily) have the power to do so. That's one form of "bad" politics.  We've seen this worldwide from so-called Leftists and Rightists. It's very tempting, and maybe you and I have sometimes urged our allies to do the same!

I like the Danielle Allen quote that "talking to strangers" is at the heart of democracy.  But the kind of talk that democracy rests on is not exactly the same as talking to old friends and family.  There are no "you know what I mean's" to fall back on.  The Five Habits of Mind we "invented" at Central Park and Mission Hill were our attempt to clarify the kind of argument democracy rests on.  You and I are on the same page about the need for practice—in schools, unions, et al—required to get good at it.  

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