Dr. Karen Rezach Discusses Ethics in an Election Season

Last week, Karen Rezach, Director of the Ethics Institute at Kent Place, led a session for the New Jersey Association of Independent School (NJAIS)’s Election Preparations series. Her talk, entitled “Disrupting the Echo Chamber,” gave guidance on how educators can build an ethical framework to navigate today’s tricky, polarized conversations. 

Politics often exists in echo chambers, or enclosed spaces where people encounter opinions and beliefs that align with their own, said Dr. Rezach. These echo chambers end up reinforcing their existing views and preventing them from listening to and investigating alternative ideas and perspectives. In her talk, Dr. Rezach discussed ways to engage in civil discourse and ethical decision-making to navigate today’s fraught political landscape. 

“This workshop was one of the most challenging of my career — disrupting the echo chamber is no easy task,” says Dr. Rezach. “The beliefs that one holds in the echo chamber can be as powerful as one’s religious beliefs. Utilizing our ethical decision-making method, which emphasizes a values-based approach to difficult conversations, makes room for authenticity and unique perspectives and ideas, and in a manner that is respectful of ‘the other.’”