Civil Discourse

"couple yelling at each other" by hang_in_there

There have been numerous mentions in my network recently of an online petition to Save School Libraries, which recommends that:

"Any school receiving Federal funds should be required to have a credentialed School Librarian on staff full time with a library that contains a minimum of 18 books per student. Failure to have a school library open to all students and/or failure to have a credentialed School Librarian to run that library should be punishable by a immediate withdrawal of all Federal monies."

While many people supported this proposal, Buffy Hamilton chose to blog about Why I Am Not Signing the "Save Libraries" Petition. Doug Johnson voiced his agreement with Buffy in You can't mandate quality, but you can mandate mediocrity. Each of these postings was thoughtful, reasoned, dispassionate. Unfortunately, many of the comments added by readers were not.

During my classroom days, I sometimes shared with my students the Rules of Civility that were written by a teenage George Washington. Although we laughed at some of the caveats ("Spit not in the Fire, nor Stoop low before it neither Put your Hands into the Flames to warm them, nor Set your Feet upon the Fire especially if there be meat before it."), and shook our heads at others ("In Speaking to men of Quality do not lean nor Look them full in the Face, nor approach too near them at lest Keep a full Pace from them.") we found some recommendations that still hold true after more than 250 years.

In regards to conversation, Washington admonishes:

• Use no Reproachfull Language against any one neither Curse nor Revile.
• Let your Conversation be without Malice or Envy, for 'tis a Sign of a Tractable and Commendable Nature: And in all Causes of Passion admit Reason to Govern.
• When you deliver a matter do it without passion & with discretion, however mean the person be you do it too.

Two hot topics in education today are cyberbullying and good digital citizenship. We cannot just pontificate on these issues. We need to model positive behavior for our students. Disagreeing with a professional colleague in a respectful manner is appropriate; personal attacks and name-calling are not.

When engaging in a public discussion, please remember to keep a civil tongue in your head.

Civility

"Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present." -George Washington, Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior


In my last posting, The Prevailing Common Sense of the Field, I addressed the topic of "tweckling," or heckling on a Twitter backchannel. I concluded with a question: "Are there 'rules' - should there be?"

Evidently the answer to my query is a definite "yes."

While I was visualizing bored captives of a Death by PowerPoint presentation trying to stay awake (and maybe extracting a measure of revenge by wandering far off topic via undercover conversations), a much different scenario was being played out in a very public venue.

Academic, researcher and blogger, danah boyd, was recently invited to speak at Web 2.o Expo in New York City. During Dr. boyd's discussion of social media, a pointless, inappropriate, even vicious stream of comments was projected on a screen positioned behind her back. When event personnel told her that the audience was initially upset because she was "talking too fast," boyd tried to adjust her presentation style, to no avail. The crowd responded with outbursts and laughter.

Dr. boyd later wrote in her blog, "when I walk off a stage not feeling invigorated, all I get is the raw drain, the gut-wrenching, nauseating feeling of pure misery. 20 minutes of being punched in the face, kicked in the stomach, and the shameful sensations one gets when one is forced to watch a Lars von Trier film. That's how I felt at Web2.0 Expo."



danah boyd gave one of the keynotes at AASL's Rev Up Learning conference in Charlotte, just a few weeks ago. She was a compelling and knowledgeable speaker. It's inconceivable to me that she would be unprofessional in any public speaking engagement. Unfortunately, the audience at Web 2.0 Expo was much less than professional in their response to Dr. boyd's perceived flaws.

We teach our students to be good digital citizens, we preach the evils of bullying, whether in real life or online. If professionals cannot model civility, then how do we expect children and teenagers to display it in their own lives?

There are many positive aspects to backchannel conversations, but there should be some ground rules. Chief among these is civility.




"In a time of social fragmentation, vulgarity becomes a way of life. To be shocking becomes more important—and often more profitable—than to be civil or creative or truly original." -Al Gore, politician and former U.S. vice president





"Civility" by divinenephron