Hello everyone.
Here are the community norms for both the EDI Community of Practice and the EDI Reading Club that were used last year, and were originally posted by @Ursula_Pike. I’m moving them to their own post as we get ready for our 2022 summer EDI book club.
Community Agreements
Welcome to our community of learners and open education practitioners. This is the CCCOER Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Community of Practice. Ours is a community open to anyone who wants to explore the intersections of equity, diversity, inclusion, and open education. It is important to us that any space we provide in either synchronous community discussions or asynchronous web platforms be productive, supportive of all members, and courageous in terms of protecting the risks that people take in sharing their perspectives and ideas. Our community of practice is a place to raise questions, grow your personal and group understanding of EDI principles, and explore how your professional practices are shaped by a dominant culture within education. We know that some of the discussions we have might be difficult for people, which is why we agree to the following guidelines:
- Acknowledge that the burden of EDI work disproportionally lies on black, indigenous, brown, Latinx, Asian, and other communities of color, LGBTQIA, and persons with disabilities.
- Recognize that there are different levels of engagement in which people will be comfortable. Accept that all community members are in different places in their journeys related to EDI work.
- Participate to the fullest of your ability - community growth depends on the inclusion of every individual voice.
- Speak from personal experience rather than trying to share other peoples’ perspectives or feelings.
- Listen respectfully to all community members. Listen harder when you initially disagree and explore what lies beneath your initial response.
- Allow for reflection over reaction. Allow for and nurture your and others’ curiosity.
- Express curiosity respectfully and in a spirit of interest and need for personal growth.
- Explore the impact of comments and behaviors both before and after interactions within the community.
- Respect and maintain confidentiality.
- Engage in this community with humility and vulnerability.
Recognizing that the topic can be overwhelming, that first steps can be difficult, and that the work is ongoing, our hope is that the community of practice and our book discussion supports individuals in finding a concrete action or actions that can be taken without approval or resources from others.