To a student in the classroom there would appear to be little disagreement over what is happening around them and what has happened in history. Yet, what better way for a young person to become more intelligent in dealing with problems of the world than to to weigh out fundamental controversies for themselves. In order to do this they need to learn several points of view at the same time, holding each as equally valid, equally important to know, and equally deserving the test of counter argument. As students admit other perspectives into their thinking, they are able to construct a debate between perspectives. This is a necessity for true democracy.
Dialogue is healthier and safer than silence.
The goal is not only to learn how differently other people think, but to also know one's own culture-based perspective better. Young people learn a dialectic between themselves as individuals and the society in which they live. In other words, they learn the difference between the individual and society. They learn how society has influenced them. And they learn how they can influence society.