Calling-In to Civil Discourse

 Calling In

 Based on the work of Loretta J. Ross

I wrote this in November of 2019 and just rediscovered it. I was given an article, written by Ross, and found it useful in helping my middle school students engage in critical discourse about issues they had rarely, if ever, discussed before. Given the recent Black Lives Matter movement, the increase in social justice issues being actively and openly discussed and debated, and the current divisiveness of this country as we are about to inaugurate the next president, I found my reflection timely. In addition, I recently read "The Lost Art of Civil Discourse" by Sophia Redelfs so I thought this blog post serendipitous.

In searching for the next step in my equity lesson where I introduce my students to what race, racism and discrimination is and how they can become anti racists themselves, I was searching for the next steps for the lesson. After introducing these broad concepts, after we read and respond to articles about these topics, as we learned the proper verbiage to discuss these topics intelligently, we needed a way to “avoid escalating conflicts and to relate to each other in affirming ways,” as Ross stated. I needed a way to respond to the careless and possibly racist statements from students and others, and I knew the kids needed a way to talk to each other where they took responsibility for what they say and how they say it.

In reading the article “Speaking Up Without Tearing Down” by Loretta J. Ross (Teaching Tolerance Issue 61, Spring 2019), the idea of having a ‘call in culture’ seemed the solution - the conduit in which to have these affirming conversations. My goal is for students to be less careless and more intentional in their words and actions. As Ross defines, “Call-ins are agreements between people who work together to consciously help each other expand their perspectives. They encourage us to recognize our requirements for growth, to admit our mistakes and to commit to doing better.” Ross sees the classroom as a perfect place to establish a call-in culture and indeed, based on my observations of students' behavior that initiated my research and lesson planning in the first place, the idea of calling-in as a way to have a civil discourse about racism and micro aggressions should prove to be a valuable instructional tool. Ross’s suggestions for what teachers can say to call in students:

 

• “I need to stop you there because something you just said is not accurate.”

• “I’m having a reaction to that comment. Let’s go back for a minute.”

• “Do you think you would say that if someone from that group was with us in the room?”

• “There’s some history behind that expression you just used that you might not know about.” 

• “In this class, we hold each other accountable. So we need to talk about why that joke isn’t funny.”

Ross suggests that teachers model these call-ins, as is intentionality in teaching works anyway, to model calling-in for students so that they may begin to emulate and eventually internalize call-ins themselves and, for White teachers and students in particular, to rethink their own positions of privilege.

Step 1: self assess

• Writing and practice sentence starters

• Who and what triggers us

• Check in with ourselves to take our emotional temperatures

When conflicts come up: Problem-Solving Conference Planning Guide
Address conflict constructively (Zemelman & Ross, 13 Steps, p. 63)

Speak Up (Zemelman & Ross p.76-78)/; adapt for classroom conversations and between/among teachers

See Responsive Classroom

The Power of Our Words Paula Denton (September 2008 | Volume 66 | Number 1 The Positive Classroom Pages 28-31)

1. Be Direct

2. Convey Faith in Students' Abilities and Intentions

3. Focus on Actions, Not Abstractions

4. Keep It Brief

5. Know When to Be Silent