Schools and educators are not just in the business
of teaching students academic material; we are also invested in teaching
students interpersonal skills such as conflict resolution and social/emotional
intelligence. While they may not retain or use every academic concept we teach,
all students will eventually become adults who have to communicate and exercise
self-control in their personal and professional lives. It is in our best
interest as a society and as educators to help our students develop these important
skills. Also, studies show that students
who feel welcomed and safe at school will have higher attendance rates and
higher standardized test scores. For
better or worse, many schools are judged on the outcome of standardized tests,
so helping students to feel more comfortable at school and therefore be present
and focused on their learning is also in the best interest of schools and
districts.
My current teaching situation is a small, private
school in a small, mostly white, mostly working- and middle-class town of only
4000 people. I have between 14 and 20 students in my class any given year. This
year, all of my students are white, but while
we may not be a racially diverse group, I still find it important to create a
classroom culture that celebrates diversity and helps students of all backgrounds feel welcomed and safe.
Firstly, I
teach Spanish immersion. My students are native English-speakers who are
learning Spanish – I teach 100% of my content in Spanish, with the goal that by
the time the students are graduated from our program as teenagers, they will be
highly proficient or fluent in Spanish. It is a core tenant of our program to
elevate the status of Spanish in our classroom by helping students develop a
personal connection to Spanish-speaking culture(s). We do this by celebrating
holidays (I lived in Spain
so I focus on Spanish holidays), by reading books about important Hispanic
historical figures, like Cesar Chavez and Frida Kahlo. I have even found books
that talk about those two people as children, which is even more relevant to my
kindergarteners. I am sure to include books in our curriculum that feature
children of many racial or national backgrounds. I also am sure that my
classroom posters feature diverse groups of children. As Perspectives for a
Diverse America says, “Diverse classroom images affect students’ conscious and
subconscious understanding of classroom values”(Perspectives for a Diverse
America, p. 9). I want my students to develop empathy for people who are different
from them. This will also help them to understand and embrace the differences
they have between each other (IE students of different abilities, from
different family or socioeconomic backgrounds).
Secondly, many
students experience bullying, and this can have devastating impacts on
students’ mental, emotional and physical health. In kindergarten, this often comes out as
playground taunting or physical intimidation. It is important that I
incorporate social and emotional intelligence skills into my teaching, both to
set a norm for my kindergarteners who are new to school, and to help them at
this critical age in their psychological development. Kindergarteners can
express themselves clearly through language, but sometimes haven’t developed
the self-awareness or self-control to communicate without using tantrums or
physical aggression. I use tools such as self-calming techniques (the
Montessori “silence game” is a great starting place), controlled
breathing, and creating a physical space (chair, quiet corner) where my
students can go when they need to calm down or regain control.
I haven’t used any restorative justice techniques
in my classroom before, but I an inspired to use dialogue circles as a means of
conflict resolution. Learning to be active listeners and use “I statements”
(“When you…. I feel….” format) will help students develop empathy and
understand how their words and actions can hurt others. I believe this will
help my kindergartners learn to think before they speak and put themselves in
another’s shoes before acting on bullying impulses. I love the idea of training
students to be “peacemakers” or facilitators of the dialogue circles.
Similarly, using the morning meeting time to check
in with each student shows that I care, and
creates a space for my students to get to know their classmates and develop
empathy for one another. I plan to
include team-building activities to help my students further develop their
cooperation and communication skills. I want my students to feel that our classroom
is a sort of family, and that in our family there is mutual trust, support, and
friendship. Especially as the teacher of young children, I want my students to
feel like they can tell me about their struggles, whether or not they are
related to school, and that I will help support and guide them through it.
Luckily, with such a small class size, it is easy to develop positive
relationships with all of my students, and I think that as the school year
progresses they will realize that I am a trustworthy and caring adult in their
life.
Finally, I want my students to all feel
safe in our classroom, regardless of their background. It is important to me that I become aware
of my own biases and do my best to break those down and create a safe space in
my classroom. In kindergarten, it is easy to divide students by gender – I will
not do this. I want students to learn
to work together regardless of gender and to develop bonds with all of their
classmates. As well, I will check my assumptions about class and family
background. I don’t want students who come from a divorced or blended family to
feel like their family background is “broken.” We talk a lot about our families
in kindergarten, and I plan to celebrate all
of our families by making a “family tree” where we can post photos of our
families in the room. I will share about my own experience growing up in a
blended family, and will be sure to display and read stories with my students
about all kinds of families from all economic backgrounds.
Because
of the amount of social and emotional growth that happens in kindergarten, I
feel that this aspect of my job as a teacher is especially important. They are
in school for the first time, and will learn behaviors based on my modeling
that may stick with them throughout their school career. I know that I am not
the only influence in their lives, but I will do my best to create a classroom
environment that encourages my students to become empathetic, self-aware,
communicative and open-minded people.
Atkins, K. (Producer). (2015). Morning Meetings: Creating a Safe Space [Online video]. The George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMctALPpLF4
Edutopia. (2010, November 16). Smart Hearts: Social and Emotional Learning Overview [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4wOWEGyO60o
Morning Meetings: Creating a Safe Space for Learning (2015, August 12). In Edutopia. Retrieved September 2, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/practice/morning-meetings-creating-safe-space-learning
Perspectives for a Diverse America. (2014). Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education. In Teaching Tolerance. Retrieved September 3, 2016, from http://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/PDA%20Critical%20Practices_0.pdf
Ryan, C., Slattery, I., & Weimberg, G. (Producer). Bullying: Being an Ally [Online video]. Teaching Channel. Retrieved September 3, 2016, from https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/be-an-ally#video-sidebar_tab_video-guide-tab
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