ECHO Discussion Agreements, Aspirations, and Basic Rights:
An Invitation to Practice Expansive Concepts
​in Education and Research

​Practice trying it on: Be willing to “try on” new ideas, or ways of doing things that might not be what you prefer or are familiar with. 
Practice respect for pronouns: Respect the asserted pronouns of all participants and authors when possible. When in doubt, just use “they.” When you make a mistake, apologize and correct it next time.
Practice listening to others: Try to avoid planning what you’ll say as you listen to others. Be self-aware and be also willing to be surprised, confused, or to learn something new. 
Practice curiosity and honesty: Don’t pretend you “get” something when you actually have questions about what something means or its implications. We are all learning, and our discussion will be richer when we all admit what we would like to understand in a deeper way.
Practice staying connected to your experience/being self-aware: A reasonable amount of discomfort in terms of engaging with unfamiliar concepts, perspectives, and conversational style is encouraged. You may feel this in your body somewhere, or you may experience it as an image or emotion. These experiences are all relevant to the material we are engaging with at ECHO. If someone’s ideas or opinions or our approach to a particular topic cause you to feel like your safety, dignity, or belonging is being threatened or compromised, however, speak up or see Dr. Pritzker privately.
Practice understanding your own positionality: To the extent that it is possible, be aware of your “social location” and the positionality that affords in the institutional structure of the academy. This means your positionality in terms of race, class and gender but also in terms of subfield, discipline, and educational/career level (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, MA, PhD, etc.). This does not mean that your ideas and perspectives, wherever you are coming from, are to be granted greater or lesser priority. Nor does it mean that you are tasked with being a representative of whatever group(s) you identify with. Having this awareness, however, can help us all figure out our “right roles” in deciphering the meanings and implications of whatever material we are discussing and in particular moments. It can also contribute to an environment where we can all learn from one another’s expertise and experiences in different domains.
Practice “calling in” rather than “calling out”: Whether it relates to someone’s (perceived) lack of comprehension, feelings, or their real or perceived disrespect, try to avoid comments that blame, shame or otherwise call others out. Instead, consider how it might be possible to reframe your response as an invitation for that person to reconsider how the way they are understanding or expressing something has impacted you or may have an impact on others in ways that don’t align with the person’s stated intentions or the shared intentions of ECHO as a collaborative community.
Practice speaking for yourself: Speak and write about your own ideas, experiences, and responses. This does not always mean using “I language” to reference only yourself, but do your best to try not to speak for a whole group or express assumptions about the experience of others. 
Practice substituting “and” for “but”:  When considering complex topics, ideas, and/or method, try to substitute “and” for “but” where you can. Because of grammar, this may not always work. AND: you can still try it. Especially within an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods context, this practice successfully acknowledges apparent contradictions while also inviting further engagement with the material. It further contributes to our ability to hold seemingly contradictory truths at once in ways that enliven our discussion and afford the co-creation of truly interdisciplinary, mixed-methods projects centering cooperation and collaboration rather than competition.  
Practice moving up/moving back: Encourage full participation by all present. If you tend to speak often, consider “moving back” and vice versa (e.g., “move up” if you realize that you haven’t been participating).
Practice confidentiality: Take home what you learn, but don’t identify anyone other than yourself in writing or conversation. If you want to follow up with anyone regarding something they said during a session, ask first and respect their wishes.
Practice understanding the difference between intent and impact: If you have been made or become aware that you have said something that has offended, irritated, or otherwise upset someone for any reason, try to understand and acknowledge their experience (e.g., the impact of your words or behavior). Denying the impact of something said by focusing on intent is often more destructive than the initial interaction. This does not mean that you will not have the opportunity to “explain yourself” in terms of clarifying your position or correcting/adjusting some aspect of the way it was articulated. 
Practice generative conflict: Especially when we are discussing experience, we may sometimes disagree. Practicing generative conflict means that we can engage in debate and discuss differences in perspective without needing to vilify, demean, or exclude anyone.

ECHO (co)Lab Basic Rights
Right to disagree: No one who attends ECHO is in any way compelled to agree with the perspectives that are expressed by any individual at ECHO or that seem to be shared by the group.
Right to be wrong and/or imperfect:  We all make mistakes, and we all learn by making mistakes. 
Right to reconsider/make corrections: If you realize that you’ve said or done something that breaks one of these agreements, [rofuse or dramatic apologizing or self-condemnation is not required. Try to simply acknowledge the misstep and move on from there.
Right to suggest modifications: These agreements are a work in progress, and your suggestions for modifications are welcome.
Right to pass: You can say “I pass” if you don’t wish to speak.