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The Legislative Semester both relies on using civil discourse, and provides an unmatched opportunity for students to develop skills for civility that will serve them throughout their lives.
Civility is a tool for navigating disagreement, it is inherently called for when there is some kind of conflict or differing opinions that require discussion and resolution. Civility helps alleviate tension, lay the groundwork for productive collaboration, and is needed in a diverse society characterized by differing opinions.
It's essential to build a concept of civility that incorporates two key attributes: politeness, which signals respect; and public mindedness which entails a deep commitment to working across differences for the common good.
Read a bit more about these two attributes here.
Principles of Civility
Principles of Civility
The LegSem Key Principles of Civility handout has more detail on these seven elements of civility, adapted for the classroom from the Key Principles of Civility from the National Institute for Civil Discourse.
Listen for Understanding
Develop Empathy
Practice Humility
Engage Differences Constructively
Seek Common Ground
Use Principled Advocacy
Show Respect
Breakdown of Civility
Breakdown of Civility
Civility is both a skill that needs to be learned and practiced, and a norm or expectation, it is inevitable that students will violate the standards of civility from time to time. What can and should you do when students struggle to maintain civil discourse.
Be clear with students that you expect them to TRY to maintain civil discourse at all times, and also that you know they are learning this skills, and when we learn and practice something we often make mistakes. Normalize mistakes, and also model and facilitate repair because the ultimate goals is to build and maintain trust and a classroom community where students are free to share their ideas and disagree with each other.
Acknowledge a violation of civility by tapping the gavel and calling for decorum, or calling a student "out of order" due to incivility. Then move on with the business. Don't make a big deal in the moment, but DO enforce the norms gently and consistently.
Incorporate regular (weekly?) reflection and debrief opportunities for students to check in on their emerging civil discourse skills. This could be an exit ticket, a think/pair/share, and self reflection, a small group discussion with prompts, or any other way you'd like to bring this to students attention. Having students set goals can be a powerful way to help them continue to grow and develop a real conviction related to civility.
Follow up with the student who violated civility if necessary, after class or at another time. If it was a significant violation ask the student what they need to do to restore trust with their classmate or the entire class.
Follow up with the entire class if necessary.
Seek out additional resources such as these Tips for Navigating Difficult Moments in the classroom, and talk to your colleagues about how they address incivilty.
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