Civil Discourse: Part 2

Episode 2

January 26, 2021

By: Jody Braun 

TWIG Contributor

    For our second gathering, Tuesdays with TWIG continued the discussion around the question, "How can we use writing to foster civil discourse in digital spaces?"  The ritual of writing into the day was inspired by the following lines from the poem, "The Hill We Climb", by our nation's first ever youth poet laureate, Amanda Gorman. 

"We are striving to forge a union with purpose

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and

conditions of man

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us

but what stands before us"

If you would like to look to the whole poem for more inspiration it is available here. 

    Gorman's words resonated with the group and grounded the conversation in the purposes of teaching civil discourse to young people. We were reminded  of some foundational principles of civil discourse as we moved into the core discussion.

Civil Discourse is:

• Truthful
• Productive
• Audience Based
• Reciprocal
• Speaker's own responsibility 

Civil Discourse is not: 

• Mere politeness or martyrdom   
• Telling others who they are
• Purely performative  

    These principles appropriately focused the conversation on potential outcomes, hopes, and products of achieving civil discourse in our classes and beyond. Common themes included building the capacity for sympathy, empathy, and truly understanding others sources of emotional pain. The practices of mindfulness, curiosity, and inquiry were mentioned as ways of fostering these principles in us as teachers and in our students. 

    Writing can be a powerful way of practicing civil discourse as it offers time to think, reflect, and consider implications and outcomes of our words. The classroom offers the safe-space  that allows students to engage in writing and open, honest discussion with one another regarding topics and issues that matter to them.  

    The discussion turned to the acknowledgement that the current socio-political climate makes our need for civil discourse most prudent. Current sensationalist journalism and common social media interactions do not typically model the principles outlined, and yet this is how most young people are exposed to and interact with the communities outside of school. We want to prepare them to be critical and assertive, but also be willing and able to be civil and productive in their social and civic engagements throughout life.

    Overall, our conversation was lively, joyful, and energizing! We hope you'll join us next time! Tuesday, February 9th.  

Civil Discourse: Part One

Episode One
Nicholas Darlinton

As our first TWIG session settled into the discussion topic, it was clear this group of educators had found a juicy one. We are always talking about the importance and purpose of writing. This conversation showed us how what we love about writing overlaps with what we believe civil discourse should entail. Participants talked about the pacing of them both. We are required to slow down as we write and as we participate in civil discourse. The slow down is good for true, meaningful thinking. The speed of conversation doesn’t always fit with civil discourse.

  Michele, a high school teacher educator,  shared why she writes. It allows her to “make a certain sense in uncertain times”. As our conversation moved to the topics of  civil discourse, current events, and instructional choices, this phrase continued to hold truth for us. I left feeling hopeful and deep in a line of thought about how important honest, complex discussions are and also about the role of educators in fostering this paradigm. 

What is TWIG and what is it doing?

Episode Zero

Nicholas Darlinton

Three years ago a team of teachers met at Boise

State University to start an investigation into how we teach writing, reading, and use of argument. How are our students reading and using sources? Questioning them? Quoting them? Commenting on them? We questioned our practices. We lesson planned. We revised. We practiced, we talked the heck out of it, and we are still on the journey of exploring argument as well as a pile of other questions that have presented themselves. 

But as a team of teachers, we have stuck together and continued to support each other in all our professional inquiries. Other teachers came alongside us on this journey and now this blog, as well as our TWIGcast, will be ways for us to document our continued learning on teaching, writing and argument. We hope you are along for the ride.