We’re about to begin another school year, and sometime before late August, thinking educators across the country should ask themselves the following question: How am I going to foster high quality discourse in my classroom over the next nine months? Harmless as it may appear, it addresses a serious issue in education. At this point, anyone who’s been remotely tuned into the discursive tenor on college campuses knows that a change needs to be made, and quickly.

In a recent article, Louis Sarkozy shows us what the issue looks like on the ground. Instead of sitting in classes that “stir up fact-heavy debate and the free flow of ideas,” the current New York University student claims his peers use these venues to engage in “all out moral and ethical warfare that necessitates humiliation, scare tactics, and reprehension.” It’s a bleak report on an issue that I thought would’ve altered its course by now. Perhaps the summer haze of beach days and nonstop seafood has allowed the seriousness of what’s at stake to drift from my mind. But I won’t allow it. Teachers, while blessed with 10 or so workless weeks each year, must actively reflect on the state of education when given ample time. So allow me to do my part.