Bobcat Stories

“I’ve seen what happens when people come together – when they listen, when they engage, when they respect one another even in disagreement.”  These are the words of the Honorable Harold Pope, New Mexico State Senator from the 23rd district, which includes Bosque School.  Senator Pope was speaking to the students and staffulty members who gathered on Saturday, April 18, for the inaugural Spread the WORD Dialogue Conference.  

WORD, which stands for Working on Respectful Dialogue, is a student organization sponsored by Julia Kingsdale, dean of equity, community and culture. It is dedicated to creating opportunities for the Bosque School community to address controversial topics through solution-oriented dialogue, without the explicit competitive goals that characterize the school’s Mock Trial and Model U.N. programs. In regularly scheduled meetings, members select topics, develop discussion questions, and invite the community to join discussions, to bridge divergent views, deepen understanding of sometimes divisive issues, and develop stronger listening skills. WORD facilitators are trained to create and sequence questions that inspire nuanced thinking and encompass all viewpoints. This year’s student leaders are seniors Julius and Maya. Group members Rhys (‘28) and Abby (‘27) are planning to step into leadership roles next year.

Reflecting on the value of the work she has done in WORD, Maya said, “Using constructive dialogue and discourse is one of the most effective and overlooked means for change and helping people understand both one another and the complex issues of the world.”  Julius added, “So much of how conversations and discourse are designed traps people in a bubble.  I’m glad so many people showed up today to challenge not only what they think but how they think.”

The conference began with Senator Pope’s keynote address. The participants then divided into morning dialogues:  “Mental Health and Social Media,” facilitated by Ezra (‘28) and Abby, and “Gun Policy Perspectives,” facilitated by Audrey H. and Rhys.  In each dialogue, four common norms were established: listen to listen, not respond; don’t interrupt; address the statement, not the person; speak for yourself, not for any group, cause, or identity you are affiliated with. Senator Pope spent time in each session, and when he had to leave for another engagement, he complimented the students on their intelligence and thoughtfulness, joking that they could teach a thing or two about listening to his colleagues up at the Roundhouse.

A pizza lunch was followed by a lively round of speed debating with questions generated by the participants, which included deep-thinking “Should all tech progress stop right now, not for the sake of humanity?” as well as the quirkily personal “Would you rather be uncomfortably hot or uncomfortably cold?”  The day continued with two afternoon dialogues:  “The Role of Religion in Society,” facilitated by Rhys and Ezra, and “Immigration Policy,” facilitated by Dusti (‘26) and Abby.

Abby shared some observations after the conference was over: “For our first year, it went well.  It was a good turnout, even with a few kids from Sandia Prep and Albuquerque Academy. Hopefully, next year we will get more participants from other schools. It’s important to have a diverse group for these conversations, to get different perspectives. We are all students from private schools, but it was interesting to see what people had to say on the different topics. I learned a lot from facilitating. It’s hard because you don’t really get to participate, so instead of trying to get my point across, I truly get to listen to others, something I don’t often do anywhere else. In the dialogue about immigration policy, there was one moment when a student described going down to the border and witnessing the immigration deportation process firsthand. I’ve definitely read about it and heard it on the news, and her story showed me so much more about how impersonal the hearings and deportation processes actually are.”

Audrey H. and Rhys facilitated the “Gun Policy Perspectives” dialogue, observed, “There are many nuances to that topic. The challenge was to balance our opinions about ideal outcomes with realistic policies and solutions. The conversation led to insights about how gun policy is tied to other imbalances in our society among the government, military, and civilians.”  Beyond the satisfaction of putting together this one-day event, Audrey finds it meaningful to have a regular place to discuss issues; hearing other people’s perspectives educates her about political and social topics: “Everyone brings different background knowledge and experiences to the conversations, and I always feel like I’ve taken something away from them.”

Everyone who participated in the conference took something valuable away: perhaps a new perspective on a difficult topic, a deeper understanding and empathy for people and groups we really don’t know much about, and, most importantly, the experience of truly listening and being fully heard.