Reflections on Classroom Climate

My mother started working as a school psychologist when I was a toddler and continued to do so for the next 30+ years.  Growing up in my house, we did a lot of "processing" our feelings. While other kids played Monopoly or Sorry on game night, we played the "Ungame" where advancing in the game required answering questions like "Do you ever feel lonely?" or "Describe a happy family".  Growing up, I was nurtured with a sense of self-reflection and an ability to talk about my thoughts and perceptions.  As I reflect on my path in education and life, I now know that these are skills that have helped me to be a better student, friend and parent.  

When I think about creating a positive classroom climate, I think about ways to nurture the development of the social and emotional skills of my students.  In 1943, Abraham Maslow wrote about human development in regards to a hierarchy of needs (Wikipedia, n.d.)

According to Maslow people need to feel nurtured physically, emotionally and socially, before they are capable of respecting themselves or others, and more over to push themselves to grow, learn and be creative. When applied to a classroom model we see how important it can be to create an environment where boundaries between teacher and student are clear, expectations of classroom behavior have been set and students are given the space, language and time to understand themselves and each other (Guditus, 2013).

Creating routines and systems that facilitate such opportunities takes planning, consistency and an investment of time.  Systems, as noted in this Prezi, include class agreements, individual and whole class incentive systems, clear and consistent deadlines for assignments, etc.  Routines include daily greetings, opportunities for physical activity/movement and regular calls or newsletters home to families.  Strategies outlined by Robert Maslow in the Art and Science of Teaching (2007) range from keeping an objective tone when interacting with students to integrating students' interests into lessons.

For me, the community circle is one of the most dynamic ways to create connections and set a tone for the classroom climate.  The circle time can be used to practice simple social skills, like introductions and greetings. The circle can be used to practice idea sharing and listening. Students can talk about their life, culture and families, cultivating respect and understanding. As students get older, circle time can be used as a safe space to process their own thoughts and feelings.  Check out this amazing community circle in an Oakland, Ca high school:

Similar to the Smart Hearts and Be an Ally videos we watched for our Activity 2, we can see that giving students opportunities to reflect on their own experiences and empathize with the experiences of others results in a more peaceful and positive community.  While it will take some time to make such connections and create a sense of emotional safety, I think it will be as important to the learning environment as well structured lesson plans and instruction.

Sources

Friedman, C ( October, 2012) Restorative Justice in Oakland Schools: Tier One: Community Building Circle. From YouTube. Retrieved on March 26th, 2014 from: http://youtu.be/RdKhcQrLD1w

Guditus, S (Feb, 2013)  Maslow Hierarchy of School Needs. Google image search. Retrieved on March 26th, 2014 from: http://sguditus.blogspot.com/2013/02/maslows-hierarchy-of-school-needs-steve.html

Marzano, Robert J. (2007) The art and science of teaching : a comprehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria, VA; Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Need. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved on March 26th, 2014 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs