Throughout Ralph Fletcher's Walking Tree I am stuck by how much the teachers and principals determine the atmosphere of the school and its various classrooms. Although most of the inner city schools he deals with are cold and dingy it is the people who make up for these inequities.
There is no doubt in my mind that the physical classroom environment influences how students feel. Bright colors, new furniture, full library, and walls covered with posters and work set the mood for an involved "happy" environment that portrays care, however many schools do not have these resources available to them. Further, these resources are only part of the environment and alone cannot foster a good classroom community.
In both cases, teachers play the largest role in building a community. I believe that this community centers on the idea that all children feel important and equal within a classroom. During Ralph Fletcher's visits he encounters some very sad and traumatic stories, as I balk at the account I am amazed to hear how he reacts to the story and is able to relate and show that he cares. When a student talks about her battles with physical and sexual abuse he does not respond with a superficial, "how sad," instead he asks how her living situation is now. He shows us how to connect with and respect our students through writing. When I get into the classroom I want to practice providing the same respect to my students. I hope to make them feel part of our community and comfortable with sharing thoughts, feelings and opinions they may have. I will model this by sharing my own personal stories and letting them know that I too am human. I also will try to allow the students to interact with myself and one another throughout lessons, which reinforces the idea that all of us are important. Children pick up on our emotions and the underlying feelings throughout the school. In one of the classrooms the children are "mad" because there teacher left to teach another class and they had to move to a smaller, darker classroom. The children feel abandoned and not as valued as other students. It is just one example that should remind us that children pick up in everything so we must actually care, listen, and be aware of our actions and the reactions they cause in order to foster a good classroom community.
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2 comments:
I agree that teachers play the most critical role in building the school community. As you mentioned, teachers usually set the tone in a school building. Children are wise enough to sense when they are and are not being cared for. Connecting with students on various levels, not only show them how much you care about them, but it also adds value to your career.
I respect your aspiration to be like Ralph in opening up yourself in front of a classroom full of students. I tell the kids in my class about me all the time and doing so helps to nurture our classroom community.
We have all detailed the role teachers play in developing a classroom community, but I particularly love how Amy touched on the physical classroom environment, as well. I had truthfully not thought of that aspect of creating a classroom community. It is overwhelmingly important to adorn the classroom with bright colors, positive, motivating images, and clean and accessible materials. If students are spending time in an environment that is not conducive to learning, it will be near impossible to foster a safe and well-functioning classroom community.
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