For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy)

by Christopher Emdin

The first of these rules is that during the dialogue, no voice is privileged over another. This rule can be extended to include the group’s acceptance that all students have equal turns at talk and have ample opportunities to constructively challenge each other and the teacher. The second rule, which comes from neoindigenous practices during performances (and is most evident during the cypher), is that there is only “one mic.” This means that only one person has the floor at any given time. Others may support or affirm, but only one person at a time serves as speaker. The last rule, which is the most significant one, is that the dialogue leads to a cogenerated/agreed upon plan of action that everyone who is a part of the dialogue must work toward when they return to the classroom.