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Ever wonder why students don’t feel comfortable enough to share their feelings or thoughts on different issues in class? Or why, in remote learning, do they keep their cameras off and hide behind those black Zoom squares? Sometimes, I find it frustrating when students do not feel important or smart enough to share their opinions freely and confidently; however, I am not frustrated with my students, I am more concerned with my inability to facilitate opportunities for students to participate in classroom discussions. So, the question I toil with the most is how can I make my classroom environment a safer and fairer place where students could express themselves without fear of rejection or being wrong. Personally, I don’t have a secret sauce. In fact, many times I failed miserably at making my classroom a safer and fairer place, but I feel like if your classroom oozes tolerance, inspiration and love, more often than not, your students will find a safe zone.
To begin with, I believe that schools are places where students can confront and engage with the foreign or different. In fact, schools are filled with different perspectives, cultures, traditions, costumes which need to be shared and understood. When students are more open-minded to diversity they will create a space of inclusion and self-awareness. Not only will inclusion help students of different backgrounds be more successful, it will also help challenge students to be aware of what awaits them beyond the classroom; a highly diverse and interconnected world. Also, people are not going to agree with them all the time, so they need to know how to accept different points of view and at times criticism. Simultaneously, there needs to be intentional invested time to get to know each other’s culture nuances and insights through collaboration and discussions. Once students experience respect and sensitivity from their teachers and peers it will open the door for deeper conversations and a space where there is no judgement or prejudices towards each other. A place where debates can be held, where students could learn to disagree or constructively critique others. Finally, I feel like if schools develop more tolerant and empathetic individuals; society will have more productive citizens to create a fairer and safer world.
Another key element to a safer and fairer classroom is inspiration. Teachers have to learn how to inspire and dare their students to become something different than what society tells them they need to be. As a matter of fact, I believe the classroom is where students must be stimulated and challenged to take risks and explore their potential. For example, there should be a balance between structure and freedom to explore their creativity through curiosity, questions and inquiry. This approach will provide enough space for them to engage with uncertainty, opportunities for problem solving, but at the same time, it will give them some structure to be confident enough to explore new ideas. My choice is not to kill their youthful imagination and creativity. At the end, the idea is to give options to students to show what they know, make connections with other knowledge, and eventually, go public with their work and inspire others.
Now, the last, but most important, element for my ideal classroom is love. Let’s be clear, I’m not referring to unconditional love, but love with truth, love with firmness. We can’t lie to our students, they will see right through it. They will notice your incoherence because they get lied to all the time; however, we can speak the truth with love. I believe that education is meant to develop not only skills, but values. We are not only physical beings, but also spiritual and moral creatures that have free will to choose right from wrong, so I don’t see a classroom where values are not taught. For instance, I am not going to destroy a student for making a mistake or not being ready for an oral presentation, if they are honest and take responsibility. But, if they lie about something then it is something serious that needs to be addressed. I want my students to know that I won’t let them drown; but won’t let things slide. Despite most teachers not agreeing with me or think that getting too involved is not part of our job; I believe that it is only natural to get involved with other human beings on a deeper level which can get messy; nevertheless, I think it is worth it. Ultimately, I see the potential in the youth and why not try to edify them with love, so that they can multiply their love for others.
In conclusion, I am an idealistic educator that believes in the impact of education. Someone told me that I should share my thoughts on education while I am young because time can make our vision foggy. So, cultivating tolerance, inspiration and love will make a classroom fairer and safer for students to thrive as individuals and collaborators. I must admit this blog post is an expression of my shortcomings as a teacher because I don’t always foster these three elements, but at the same time, it is my vision for the world. Like the IB states “The International Baccalaureate develops inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through education that builds intercultural understanding and respect.”
Image source: etsy.com from Pinterest
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