Tate Aldrich -- The Context/License/Privilege Protocol
America’s educators know the most valuable classroom conversations can oftentimes be the most uncomfortable, but how often are discussions about relevant topics, such as race, gender, or immigration, counterproductive in our classrooms?
The Context/License/Privilege Protocol provides teachers with a proven facilitation method that works to dismantle the conversational roadblocks impeding some of students’ most valuable learning. With the implementation of this protocol, classroom conversations about arming teachers, combating the opioid crisis, or kneeling during our National Anthem are intentionally optimized.
As a dialogic teaching tool, the protocol creates a conversational space in which students activate their learning rather than simply demonstrate it. Its inception was inspired partly by Mary Juzwik and her coauthors, whose book Inspiring Dialogue: Talking to Learn in the English Classroom offers educators a roadmap for the optimization of such conversations. The Context/License/Privilege Protocol requires students to position their opinions about relevant topics within three different response frames: context (the place, time, etc. in which the conversation is taking place), license (the conversational right of an individual based on his or her cultural identity or firsthand experiences), and privilege (an inherent advantage). These frames not only illuminate students’ difference but also the sources of those differences, providing its participants insight into each of their unique identities. As Juzwik wrote, dialogic teaching tools should frame “differences as resources of learning rather than as problems to solve.”
This facilitation method cultivates curiosity within students for others’ perspectives and helps ensure equity within our classrooms. For more information on the Context/License/Privilege Protocol, check out the May 2019 issue of the NCTE’s English Journal and begin your professional journey towards conversations that are safest for and most conducive to student learning.