Ableism in the classroom: Teaching accessibility and ethos by analyzing rubrics

Abstract

This activity is designed to help students recognize ableist assumptions in rhetoric and how we evaluate what constitutes a “good” speaker and their ethos. It will highlight how ableism is embedded in social norms, using classroom public-speaking rubrics to do so. Students learn how to identify these ableist assumptions better and develop a more nuanced understanding of how speakers develop ethos. Courses Public Speaking, Interpersonal Communication, Small-Group Communication, Interviewing, Nonverbal Communication, Rhetorical Criticism. Objectives By the end of this activity, students will be able to: (1) define key terms, including ableism, social model of disability, and ethos; (2) explain how ableist assumptions inform how we evaluate rhetoric and public speaking; and (3) demonstrate how ethos is based on social norms that are embedded in ableist assumptions.