More calls for civility
Here's an interesting trend: calls for civility in the discussion of education issues in Seattle.
They are coming from a variety of sources.
Here's one from Alison Krupnick that I read in Crosscut. Yeah, Crosscut, where the editor referred to the two newly elected board members as "insurgents" and refuse to interview them as candidates.
Here's one from Robin Lake of the Center for Reinventing Public Education that appeared on the EdWeek blog.
Here's one from me on this blog in August of 2010.
And, as usual, there are a lot of Ed Reform organizations re-posting the articles on their blogs. They re-post from each other and the Seattle Times a lot.
What I really like about the first two is that they are calling to Education Reform organizations to be more civil even more than they are calling on folks on this blog to tone it down. Actually, not only are our posts more informative, less biased, and more civil than you typically see on Education Reform blogs, but our comments, as rough as they are, do not compare to the scathing flames that are typical on the Seattle Times.
So I'm happy that other folks are taking an interest in toning down the confrontational rhetoric. That's one more middle ground that we can share.
They are coming from a variety of sources.
Here's one from Alison Krupnick that I read in Crosscut. Yeah, Crosscut, where the editor referred to the two newly elected board members as "insurgents" and refuse to interview them as candidates.
Here's one from Robin Lake of the Center for Reinventing Public Education that appeared on the EdWeek blog.
Here's one from me on this blog in August of 2010.
And, as usual, there are a lot of Ed Reform organizations re-posting the articles on their blogs. They re-post from each other and the Seattle Times a lot.
What I really like about the first two is that they are calling to Education Reform organizations to be more civil even more than they are calling on folks on this blog to tone it down. Actually, not only are our posts more informative, less biased, and more civil than you typically see on Education Reform blogs, but our comments, as rough as they are, do not compare to the scathing flames that are typical on the Seattle Times.
So I'm happy that other folks are taking an interest in toning down the confrontational rhetoric. That's one more middle ground that we can share.
Comments
THAT is hilarious!
n...
The Crosscut article is funny because she uses a lot of adjectives to describe people and then calls it name-calling.
But her suggestions are good and I think everyone should read them and take them to heart.
But N is right; people mistake blunt truths for incivility and they are wrong.
But this is never an excuse to be uncivil, particularly since having indefensible or not-well-thought-out positions exposed can, and does, happen to all of us. When it does, it is ever so much easier when the errors are pointed out civilly.
It does mean that you don't refer to the people who disagree with you as "insurgents".
It does mean that you don't try to shout them down, or claim that they don't care about children.
It does mean that you don't automatically oppose everything they say and do because you disagree with other things that they say or do.
You can ask them about their position and ask them to explain the parts that don't work for you. Ask them to reconcile the inconsistencies.
When folks wanted to bring Teach for America to Seattle, it was contrary to the stated strategy. The strategy was to bring our most expert and experienced teachers to our most challenging schools and reduce the turnover. Since Teach for American would do exactly the opposite, I asked them to explain the 180 degree reversal of strategy.
It was a sharp, forceful question, but it was also civil and courteous.
Of course, no one would answer it.
And that's where the call for civility breaks down. People say that I would be more effective if I were kinder, but I've tried being kinder and I didn't get any better results. Being sharp and sarcastic isn't any more effective, but it does provide me with some catharsis and it's entertaining. So when I total up the score, sarcasm wins.
I would be kinder if being kind actually were more effective, but it isn't.
First, quoted from the Crosscut article "Less insult, more discourse..."
“The mud-flinging is hard,” says Kristin Bailey-Fogarty, a Seattle public school teacher who has been outspoken in her support of education reform and the A+ Washington initiative and, as a result, has sometimes been viciously attacked in the blogosphere. "I've found the best strategy is to assume your attackers care as much about an issue as you do," she says. "People come out of the gate in attack mode, but eventually they can come to a place of reason."
And now from Ms. Bailey-Fogarty's response to Melissa Westbrook's comment on "Why I Like A+ Washington"...
"Are we stupid? Are we so stubborn and paranoid we can't learn from others? I would hope not. We are complete fools if we do not examine successful schools in an effort to learn from them. I would hope we're not fools.
If you're going to load every verb up with your own fears and negative expectations, you're going to hate everything."
Hmmm.
Oompah
Now a nicer person (like Melissa) would have muttered "nonsense" at Enfield's lies, then apologized. I'm not a nice person. See, I'm even uncivil to myself. Maybe I need therapy.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jerrylarge/2018015668_jdl19.html
Yup.
It is one thing to say someone is wrong, or that what someone has said is untrue, even a lie. It is something else to call someone a liar, stupid or a fool. Of course I've done all of those things, but I am not holier than thou.
I think it's a load of hogwash for someone sticking a knife into another's ribs, as many Ed Reformers do daily, to then complain about "incivility" when people loudly object.
Many Ed Reform campaigns are patently deceptive, disingenuous, manipulative and deceitful, and I will not treat any person engaged in such "uncivil" activities with kid gloves.
Ed Reformers: You get what you give.
WSDWG
P.S. Keep following the money. It's ultimately all about that, not kids.