The practice I intend to implement in the fall semester is creating a student agreement. I agree with the experts’ opinions that they are an important resource for students to be free to express themselves but not at the expense of hurting others. If an authoritative (not authoritarian) agreement is established, it will go along way towards making the class an actual community where diverse opinions are sought and diverse people accepted. I point to the difference between authoritative and authoritarian because the goal is to create an environment of inclusion, not suppress or stifle potentially controversial opinions. The agreement should be less about what students say and more about how they say it while respecting the opinions of those with whom they disagree.

In my welcome statement on Blackboard and in my introductory email to the class, I will announce our intention of creating a community agreement to protect everyone’s right to express diverse opinions, but to also protect everyone’s right to express their diverse identities, all with respect and without judgment. I intend to survey the students in the email to express what would be important issues to consider, and use their opinion and submissions to draft a community agreement. During the first class, I intend to go over the draft and student submissions with them to finalize their opinions on its content.