Emotionally Safe Classroom Spending the first three weeks of class devoted to making a consistent and predictable classroom environment through establishing, modeling and teaching clear rules, routines and expectations is a fundamental technique found among effective teachers (Borich, 2012). These expectations and routines should not be vague (e.g. “Stay on task” or “Be in the right place at the right time”) but should be clear and precise (e.g. “Check off your name as you first come in the class, and immediately sit down to review the day’s itinerary”). Building daily itineraries that can be followed will improve class predictability and are valued by elementary students (Savage, 2009), resulting in an emotionally safe classroom. Another effective way to create an emotionally safe environment is to develop diversity awareness and social skills. Elementary students may not be aware of the wide variety of cultures that influence classroom dynamics. Katz and Porath (2011) have shown that implementing social-emotional learning interventions such as their “Respecting Diversity” program, students will develop greater understanding and respect for the diversity of others, greater self-awareness and greater self-respect. Social skills include equipping students with conflict resolution skills, discussing appropriate ways to speak to one another, and showing students how to respect personal belongings, other’s feelings, and diverse values. By enhancing social skills and
Classrooms will be filled with a variety of students coming from many different cultures and backgrounds. Teachers need to acknowledge each student will be different in this aspect and will have had different experiences in their lives. As the class moves forward, the goal is to provide students with the same experiences, just with through different lenses. To do this, the classroom must have a strong sense of community and a
As a teacher, it is important to know and understand the racial and cultural identities of both yourself, and your students. Knowing about your students’ backgrounds is a great way to make the classroom a safe and welcoming environment. Not all educational settings emit a feeling of safety to its students, and that needs to be changed. In this paper, I will discuss how my racial and cultural identity may be the same and may differ from my students, as well as some ways in which the institution of education can be changed to be more racially and culturally inclusive.
In a diverse classroom each student will be attended based on their individual need and teachers will meet each child at their level. Student will be treated equally regardless of their cultural background or socioeconomic status. By providing a good classroom management system, we will have a respectful and inclusive class culture. Establishing good classroom routines is essential to creating a positive environment for students to focus on learning. The follow sections cover those routine in our class
This paper will be discussing a recent fifteen hour field experience I participated in which I observed a classroom which included many students of diverse ethnic and cultural groups. I will discuss any prejudices/discriminations I observed in the classroom based on ethnic and cultural diversity. I will also describe how this experience has made me determined to try to create a positive learning environment for students of diversity in the classroom.
Our reading for this week is from the uniquely formatted book written by Harry and Rosemary Wong titled, “The First Days of School; How to be an Effective Teacher.” The focus section of our reading is based in Unit C of the text, which focuses of Classroom Management. Chapters 11-16 were read, and these chapters focus on the topics of how to have a well managed classroom, effectively preparing the classroom, how to introduce yourself to students, seating arrangement/assignment, starting a class, and the proper timing and execution of taking roll. Essentially each chapter of this text follows the same format. There will be a few paragraphs discussing what “effective teachers” would do followed by a few paragraphs about what “ineffective teachers”
In order to implement this into my future class I first need to recognize the variety of individual culture, gender, background, socioeconomic status, learning style, developmental stage and other factors of students, families and colleagues. Establishing that my classroom is a safe zone and a place where differences are celebrated and embraced will help me create an environment where everyone’s diversities are respected.
Because social and emotional skills are so essential and critical to being a good student, it is not only worthwhile but also necessary for you to put multiyear and integrated efforts to develop your students’ social and emotional skills. You can achieve this through effective classroom instructions, students’ engagement in positive activities in and outside of the classroom, and holistic parent
A teacher should teach, demonstrate, establish, and enforce classroom procedures and routines at the start of the year to manage the classroom behaviors. Rules and procedures support teaching and learning and provide students with clear expectations and well-defined norms. Teachers can create a respectful, supportive learning environment when they have an understanding of the diverse learning in the
The first unit that we went through was race. The most impactful concept in this unit was the idea of colorblindness. Race is such an uncomfortable topic in our culture, and sometimes it is easier to avoid that topic. According to the Colorblindness article, “Paying attention to the cultural experience of students is becoming increasingly important, given the differences between the demographics of American students and their teachers.” However, easy is not always better. It is important for our students to feel comfortable in our classrooms, and this will not happen if they do not feel culturally accepted. I believe that discussion leads to understanding. Therefore, I want my students to be aware of what is appropriate to discuss and say, and be able to have effective communication. I have always had multiple friends of different races, sexualities, and upbringings. This class made me realize that having friends is not enough to be “not racist”, “not sexist”, “not accepting of other cultures”. You have to be willing to communicate, and understand about others, before you can accept, and love them.
No one can deny the fact that United States is rapidly becomes a more culturally and ethnically diverse nation. If the information from The Census Bureau which projects that by the year 2100, the U.S. minority population will become the majority with non-Hispanic whites making up only 40% of the U.S. population is anything to go by, it is clear beyond any reasonable doubt that we need to prepare the coming generations to comfortably embrace this change (Great Schools Staff, 2015). The subject of social diversity can therefore no longer be ignored since as a matter of fact, its impacts are already here with us. Public schools are becoming more diverse, and both the teachers and the students are feeling the impact. Teachers should therefore be actively involved in preparing their students to be tolerant to this change and teaching them how to interact in a diverse environment.
Once students and teachers are aware of cultural differences, they become aware of racism and can fight to eradiate it. Through their unbiased understanding of the differences between cultures and races, they are able to come to a point of acceptance of themselves and others. If you noticed in my previous paragraph, I mentioned the different types of diversity. Diversity emphasizes how different students and teachers are, but when explored in a classroom, can be used to reveal our similarities. Once students and teachers grasp the concept of diversity, displayed through everyday interactions with diverse groups of students and teachers, racism begins to disappear. In addition, positive sense of self can be developed once students and teachers have an understanding of their own uniqueness through experiences and understanding of diversity. Once teachers and students
Students get to reveal and acknowledge similarities and differences with their classmates in an inclusive environment. They also get to identify, represent and appreciate their own personal attributes. This activity emphasizes the core competencies of communication by encouraging students to connect and engage as well as personal and social in the realm of social responsibility by having students value the diversity expressed in their classroom.
I believe a successful learning experience is engaging and valued by the students. I believe students’ will value what they are learning if they believe what they’re learning is relevant. Relevance is important to teaching and learning because it is directly related to student engagement and motivation (Frymier & Schulman, 1995; Martin & Dowson, 2009). Marsh (2008), states a positive classroom environment provides a sense of security, community, belonging and identity (Marsh, 2008). Based on my experience as a practicing teacher, I have found establishing clear expectations within the classroom assist in maintaining control and discipline, to create a safe learning environment (Fatt Hee, 1996). I believe within all classrooms, students’ diversity should be valued. This creates a discrimination free environment and ensures students feel safe and included (Philips, 2010). According to Stanford & Parkay (2007) students are more engaged in class when learning experiences are satisfying, challenging and friendly.
In a classroom, teachers have a diverse role but classroom management may be the most critical. I believe that a teacher must provide a safe and comfortable environment that will maximize student learning opportunities that will lead to positive student behavior. I know that each student is a remarkable and unique individual who needs a safe, caring, and encouraging environment to help them grow intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally. It is my passion to support and guide each student by providing a safe and stimulating environment. I sincerely believe that all students have the capability to learn and it is a matter of how much a teacher is willing to do for their students. I’m willing to do all that I can to maintain a well managed environment and optimize learning opportunities.
Change represents a continuous awareness on one’s self and the environment. It’s no surprise that the classroom, in terms of education, is becoming more diverse every school year, while teaching and instructional practices remain the same. In fact, Ladson-Billings states in an educational article that “it has become commonplace to point out that while the US teaching force is increasingly white, middle-class, and female, the nation’s PK-12 student population is growing significantly more diverse” (Ladson-Billings). So the question remains: How are teachers, administrators, and educators preparing for this change? After all, education is not only a process that involves life experiences, acquiring knowledge, and learning through instruction, but more importantly, it is about adapting to life experiences and learning to acquire knowledge via diversity and multi-cultural education. For these reasons, it is pertinent that teachers are aware of the practices and strategies that can be used to effectively engage all students in a culturally diverse classroom.