Chris...
I particularly like #4 -- but "blaming the victim" is precisely what this
whole right-wing "personal responsibility" thing is all about, and I find
that rampant even among middle-aged acquaintances of mine, including a
lawyer, a journalist, and just about all the upper-middle class, highly
educated housewives I live among! Many of my students are minorities and/or
are from blue collar backgrounds, and that attitude is quite evident among
them, as well. Seems like if you show empathy, somehow you're called an
elitist who is insulting disadvantaged people's intelligence! That's the
reaction I got to a letter to the editor of my local paper, when I dared to
say that the young people fighting in Iraq are mainly from lower income
families.
Sarah Murray
William Paterson U. of NJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Taylor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, August 19, 2005 11:59 AM
Subject: TEACHSOC: Re: Respect in the classroom
Hi Anne and All,
I sent the ground rules below to Lynette, but I meant to send the e-mail
to the entire list.
I've been adding these to all of my syllabi for quite a while now and find
them very helpful.
Warm regards,
Chris
Ground Rules for Discussion*
1. Acknowledge that racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, and
other institutionalized forms of oppression exist.
2. Acknowledge that one mechanism of institutionalized racism, classism,
sexism, heterosexism, ableism, and the like, is that we are all
systematically misinformed about groups we are part of and about members
of other groups. This is true for members of privileged and non-privileged
groups.
3. Agree not to blame others or ourselves for the misinformation we have
learned, but to accept responsibility for not repeating misinformation
after we have learned otherwise.
4. Agree not to “blame the victims” for the conditions of their/our lives.
5. Assume that people—both the groups we study and members of this
class—always do the best they/we can.
6. Actively pursue information about our own groups and those of others.
7. Share information about our groups with other members of the class, and
never demean, devalue, or in any way “put down” people for their
experiences. However, do not invade others’ privacy when unwanted.
8. We should be obligated to actively combat the myths and stereotypes
about our own groups and other groups so that we can break down the walls
that prohibit group cooperation and group gain.
9. Create a safe atmosphere for open discussion. If members of the class
wish to make a comment that they do not want repeated outside the
classroom, they can preface their remarks with a request that the class
agree not to repeat the remarks.
* Lynn Weber Cannon initially developed similar guidelines. To read more
about the guidelines, see Cannon, Lynn Weber. 1990. Fostering positive
race, class, and gender dynamics in the classroom. Women’s Studies
Quarterly 18(1-2): 127-34.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Hi, everyone -
I actually distribute a full page handout on guidelines for classroom
behavior and discussions - a modification of the guidelines Lynn Weber
originally published in Women's Studies Quarterly.
I will send out a copy on email to everyone on Monday when I am in the
office.
I find it highly effective and have at least five students a semester
express appreciation for it.
Anne Eisenberg
SUNY-Geneseo
