Creating a Safe Classroom Community and Building a Relationship with your Students
How will you build relationships with your students and create a safe learning environment?
Watch the video:
How could you or will you incorpate any tips from the above material in your classroom?
Ms. Saul is a third grade teacher at Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School in East Palo Alto, CA. In this video she discusses how she creates and maintains a safe and positive classroom culture. She says that you have to normalize air and let the students know that making mistakes are okay. She says that, it is essential to have a plan for establishing and maintaing the classroom environment. It is "the bed you plant the flowers in, and they need to flourish and grow." One way she maintains a safe learning environment, is by having a serious discussion with her students about their responsibility in maintaining their learning environment.
I definitely want my students to feel safe and welcomed in the classroom. I want my students to be compassionate and respectful towards their teacher and their fellow classmates. One thing that I really like about this video is that Ms. Saul creates, with her students, a classroom pledge. The pledge is a list of hopes, goals, and dreams the students would like to achieve throughout the year. I like this idea, because, I believe that discussing and writing out the classroom pledge with the students would be an effective tool in maintaining a positve atmosphere in the classroom. When students partake in making this pledge, they may feel more obliged to honor it. I would definitely use this in my classroom to ensure that all my students feel safe and willing to express themselves and their ideas. Ms. Saul says this approach helps students to make judgements about inappropriate behavior, and is more effective than the teacher redirecting.
Rita Pierson has been teaching for over 40 years. She has been a counselor, a testing coordinator, and an assistant principal. She has a desire to know her students, show them how much they matter, and support them in their growth.
James Comer said, "No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship."
Build relationships by building self-esteem in your students and letting them know you care. The following is a saying that Ms. Pierson gave to her students: 'I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I'll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong." There are a lot of factors that can affect your students learning. By building a relationship with them, we as educators have the power to have a positve affect on their learning and self-esteem. One way to do this is by showing our students we are human and can say the words "I'm sorry". If a teacher makes a mistake or knows she/he has done or said something wrong, they should take the step and apologize to their student(s). Another way is by getting to know our students beyond an academic level. We should connect with our students and let them know that we are not just here to teach content, and that we actually care about them as a person."Teaching and learning should bring joy, how powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, not afraid to think, and had a champion." Every child deserves an adult, who will not give up on them and insist that they become the best they could possibly be.
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