Civility Circle Guidelines
Civility circles offer you an opportunity to discuss what you have written in your journal about the experience of creating civility.
You will want to find a good meeting place where group members can chat and read comfortably, perhaps even meditate at some point(s), maybe over tea or a glass of wine. Welcome a nice mix of people, not necessarily those you know well, but certainly those with whom you will feel comfortable sharing intimate reflections. Guidelines can be flexible and should be reviewed regularly to make certain they serve the group’s function. The only guidelines that is not flexible, really, is that confidentiality and respect remain intact, and that time is allocated so that all who wish to read and respond can do so.
You’ll want to create a comfortable aura, for civil, enjoyable, thought-provoking participation. Five is a nice number of participants, allowing a good chunk of time for each member to have a turn and to keep the meeting time of reasonable duration. You’ll need enough structure to keep the group viable, say, 15-20 minutes for each member to read, reflect, and hear commentary, of the “I noticed…“ rather than the “you should…” kind. Members should be allowed to pass: perhaps they have written nothing that they deem sharable or have no comments that further discussion. Since participation is a group commitment, it is good to show up, even if you don’t wish to share your own journal entries with others.
The introspection that occurs through the reading and writing creates a social bond. You will learn from what others write and say. This give-and-take is how civility understanding advances. But you will learn about the very processes of writing and thinking too, as you have a window into how another unpacks an experience, witnesses an (in)civility event and makes meaning of it, or describes the championing of civility or the undermining of it. The writing anchors the discussion in particulars. Your shared experience of reading Creating A New Civility gives you points of departure and comparison. In the process you build your own understanding of the theory and practice of civility.
There is much talk today of the revolution that is necessary for United States democracy to save itself. A civility circle is a sacred sharing space where your civility understanding and intelligence develop, and possible action plans emerge. In any case, it offers a bonding experience over shared commitments.
You will want to find a good meeting place where group members can chat and read comfortably, perhaps even meditate at some point(s), maybe over tea or a glass of wine. Welcome a nice mix of people, not necessarily those you know well, but certainly those with whom you will feel comfortable sharing intimate reflections. Guidelines can be flexible and should be reviewed regularly to make certain they serve the group’s function. The only guidelines that is not flexible, really, is that confidentiality and respect remain intact, and that time is allocated so that all who wish to read and respond can do so.
You’ll want to create a comfortable aura, for civil, enjoyable, thought-provoking participation. Five is a nice number of participants, allowing a good chunk of time for each member to have a turn and to keep the meeting time of reasonable duration. You’ll need enough structure to keep the group viable, say, 15-20 minutes for each member to read, reflect, and hear commentary, of the “I noticed…“ rather than the “you should…” kind. Members should be allowed to pass: perhaps they have written nothing that they deem sharable or have no comments that further discussion. Since participation is a group commitment, it is good to show up, even if you don’t wish to share your own journal entries with others.
The introspection that occurs through the reading and writing creates a social bond. You will learn from what others write and say. This give-and-take is how civility understanding advances. But you will learn about the very processes of writing and thinking too, as you have a window into how another unpacks an experience, witnesses an (in)civility event and makes meaning of it, or describes the championing of civility or the undermining of it. The writing anchors the discussion in particulars. Your shared experience of reading Creating A New Civility gives you points of departure and comparison. In the process you build your own understanding of the theory and practice of civility.
There is much talk today of the revolution that is necessary for United States democracy to save itself. A civility circle is a sacred sharing space where your civility understanding and intelligence develop, and possible action plans emerge. In any case, it offers a bonding experience over shared commitments.