The students are not inherently noisy or polite. They are simply responding to a system that has been designed to silence them. It is a system of power that operates through language, through the very structures of our institutions, and through the ways we interact with each other.

This is a problem because it is not just about the way we write, but also about the way we think. It is about the way we engage with the world, and how we interact with others. It is about the conformity to a certain set of values, a certain way of thinking, a certain way of being.

This is a paradox. We want our students to be critical thinkers, yet we often structure our courses in a way that discourages critical thinking. We want them to be engaged in dialogue, yet we often create a space where only one side of the argument is allowed to be heard. We want them to be independent thinkers, yet we often structure our courses in a way that reinforces conformity. This paradox is not unique to our courses. It is a pervasive problem in higher education.

The agreement that is being forged is not just about the content of the group, but also about the process of reaching that content. The process of reaching consensus, the way we arrive at a decision, is as important as the decision itself. This is where the danger lies.