Consensus Quilt
This is one of the most powerful activities I have experienced in my entire academic career. It is an amazing way to demonstrate the power of consensus and strengthen a classroom community in which all students are valued and empowered to use their voice.Â
This is the Consensus Quilt I participated in creating in a college class. My class was empowered to interpret quilt very loosely, and incorporated several 3-D elements into our creation. By the end, we felt so connected to this creation we decided we should all sign it, and we hung it on the classroom door. I love seeing it every time I am there!
Inspired by my own Consensus Quilt experience, I led the kindergarten class I am student teaching with in creating their own Consensus Quilt. I taped it up in the hall above where they usually display their work so it can stay up for the rest of the year.
Below is a presentation that you can use to create a Consensus Quilt with your own students. For your quilt blocks, just print off enough copies of Slide 4 for each of your learners to have two columns of triangles. The first two slides are designed to give you a chance to make sure all of your students understand what consensus is and what quilts are, and Slides 3 and 5 have a copy of the directions your students will need to perform this activity.
Before starting this activity, be aware that it will take a long time to arrange each group's quilt blocks into a class quilt--you need to allocate at least an hour. I did the whole thing in one day, but it took most of the school day, and I would actually recommend creating the group quilt the day after you complete the rest of the activity. Above all, DO NOT TRY TO RUSH THIS PROCESS. One of the most powerful parts of this activity is that we place an emphasis on each participant's agency by explicitly asking them not to disengage to speed along the consensus process. This emphasis gives quiet, easygoing people the little push they need to seize their agency as an active member of their community, and it takes time, but I promise the way it strengthens the community at the end is worth it.
Finally, as a facilitator, your job is to participate as little as possible. Your learners are in charge, and your only job is to guide them back towards consensus if necessary, but even then, try to give your learners a chance to get themselves back on track.
