Blair's foundation recently flew two high school principals and 10 teachers, including Ide, from the Canyons School District to Washington, D.C., for training on how to implement the "Face to Faith" pilot program. Plans are in the works to offer the program this fall at Brighton High School, in Cottonwood Heights and Hillcrest High School in Murray.
Face to Faith uses technology and video conferencing to bring U.S. students together with students from places like Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon and Indonesia to talk about global issues and religion.That classroom atmosphere of trust is not by accident. Ide works hard to build a safe place where students can share without fear. "The kids can do a lot more in the classroom as far as expressing themselves and debate than I can, because I'm an extension of the government," Ide says. "The thing that I absolutely, 100 percent demand, is that the classroom environment is safe ... safe from kids feeling like they can't share what they would like to say."
Her class encourages students to explore diverse, opposing and strongly-held beliefs in a civil way that builds understanding and heals rifts. It also gives students skills they can transfer to other areas in their lives. "I want them to be able to figure out what they think about things and to be able to communicate those things," Ide said.
And this appears to be just the sort of thing Face to Faith hopes to accomplish on a global scale — and why Blair's foundation pays for course materials, training and even moderators for video conferencing. "This world has different views and different opinions," Ide says, "and our ability to communicate with each other, and talk with each other, even though we have great differences, is key."
