Conversation Comeback: A Teacher’s Guide to Class Discussion in a Distracted, Divided World by Liza Garonzik

Today's teachers are navigating what can only be called a Conversation Crisis. When it's time to talk, students shut down—becoming withdrawn, anxious, argumentative, or performative. It's understandable. Kids are growing up in a world where it's easier to text than talk, screens shrink attention spans, algorithms skew perspectives, politics are polarized, and AI undercuts authenticity. The consequence is a generation lacking the real-world conversation skills that sustain classrooms and communities.

Conversation Comeback steps into this gap with R.E.A.L.® Discussion: A research-informed, practice-proven, and utterly-optimistic framework for teaching the communication skills our world urgently needs.

Grounded in classroom practice and designed for immediate use, Conversation Comeback positions discussion as an academic skill nd gives teachers the tools to make it visible, teachable, and impactful.

Releasing in April 2026, Conversation Comeback: A Schoolwide Guide to Discussion in a Distracted, Divided World complements this Teacher’s Guide, extending the work beyond individual classrooms and supporting alignment across faculty, leadership, and families.

Teachers can use this guide on its own to immediately strengthen classroom discussion practice. Schools and teams may choose to pair it with the Schoolwide Guide to align around a shared vision and reinforce the work across contexts. Others may begin with a schoolwide conversation and use this guide to support classroom-level implementation.

Together or individually, the books offer a coherent, practical approach to restoring conversation as a central part of learning and human connection.

Learn more: conversationcomeback.org