Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Once a Week Campaign


I just invented this. Please join me in Once a Week! Send a letter to your state representative once a week about whatever issue you're interested in. 

Dear Congressman Labrador, 

I'm a teacher in the Boise area and wanted to let you know of an amazing tools teachers use when collaborating. The reason I want to share them with you is to inspire an atmosphere of compromise in our congress. I know I am just one person but I know of many people that are hoping the partisan bickering will end. 

I think the way we're treating the word "compromise" is incorrect. We, as republicans or democrats, seem to see the word compromise and think, "Compromise my values. Compromise my beliefs. Compromise who I am." With this mindset, anything other that what is on our own agenda is hogwash. We should view compromise as a a form of consensus instead. 

When collaborating with other teachers, often times, we don't all have the same agendas. Some ideas that will work for one teacher don't work for another. One tool we have used is called the "Continuum of Consensus." Here are the levels of the continuum:

1. All can embrace
2. All can endorse
3. All can live with it.
4. All can agree not to sabotage.
5. Majority Rules

Notice, our current system is the lowest level of the continuum! I think this is where all our anger arises when congress is in gridlock. We put forth measures that only one side agrees with. I think if we use the continuum as a guide while discussing and composing legislation to be passed to come up with bills that fall at least on levels 1 - 3 for everyone, that we could actually accomplish something in government. When bills arrive at the house and senate they're already at a point where some can embrace, some can endorse and some can live with. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I hope to see my country and government getting along. 

Sincerely, 
Andrea Schofield

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