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Schools in the United States are highly diverse. They include students of different color, cultural backgrounds, and languages. Students in diverse schools can expand their understanding and knowledge of different cultural backgrounds. Yet, to guarantee students' fair access to education, teaching instructions should be culturally responsive to all students and engender a network of relationships based on trust, mutual respect, and valuing of diversity.

The activites below focus on engendering a network of relatioships based on respect and valuing of diversity in a high school science classroom, but can be adapted to fit all ages and subjects.
Activity 1: Defining Respect
In this activity, students will define respect and explore its relationship to definitions and examples of prejudice, bias, racism and stereotype.

1. Ask the students if any of them can curl their tongue. (The ability to curl the tongue is a genetic trait) Show the students who are able to curl their tongue that you are impressed and respectful of their ability. Then, ask them how they feel about your obvious bias toward people with this trait.

2. Write the word respect on the board. Tell the students that respect can apply to one's self, to others, and to the environment. In this lesson, they will be learning aspects of self-respect and respect to others.

3. Under the word "respect," construct a table with two columns. Column heads should read "Looks Like" and "Does Not Look Like." Ask the students to brainstorm words or phrases to complete the table. For example, bias, prejudice, stereotype, and racism go under "Does Not Look Like".

4. Divide the class into small groups and give each group dictionaries. Assign each group one of the four words. Ask the group to write down a definition using their own words, and to decide if any other words or phrases from the table might fit their word's definition.

5. Allow students to share their findings. Encourage them to come up with examples of prejudice, stereotype, racism, and bias.

Activity 2: Are traits inherited?
Students will follow the following instructions:

Look at your classmates. Note how they vary in the color of their eyes, hair, and skin, the shape of the front hairline, and the way in which the earlobes are attached.

Make a list of the different traits that you have observed in the class.

Now, think about this:

- Could these traits be inherited? From whom?
- How would you act or behave toward these differences? Why?

Lead a classroom discussion on differences between people and reinforce mutual respect in the class.
Activity 3: Conducting a Survey
In this activity, students will survey at least ten people from different cultural backgrounds about their viewpoints on cloning animals. Students will realize that people think differently and that it is fine to have difference among people. Students should show respect to people's different viewpoints regarding this issue.

Students should prepare an illustrated explanation of the process of cloning to help people they survey understand the topic. Students findings will depend on the viewpoints of the people interviewed.
Celebrating diverse school populations
Teachers may also create strategies that encompass the whole school community. For example:

Parade of Nations: Students will be encouraged to come to school in the native dress of their country and march in a parade carrying their country's flag.

World Culture Day: This day is devoted to learning about different countries and their cultures. In this activity, classes will visit a selection of the countries offered and learn about their culture.

Show and tell: Students share some information about their countries. They may talk about their language and its components using language based games, construct a model of an item associated with their country, play a cultural game, sing a song or make or play an instrument native to the country, or share traditional food.
Resources
Levine, J. & Miller, K. (2004). Prentice Hall Biology: Overview of teacher's edition. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458.

http://learningtogive.org/lessons/unit488/lesson1.html

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Activities for Understanding Respect and Diversity

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Schools in the United States are highly diverse. They include students of different color, cultural backgrounds, and languages. Students in diverse schools can expand their understanding and knowledge of different cultural backgrounds. Yet, to guarantee students' fair access to education, teaching instructions should be culturally responsive to all students and engender a network of relationships based on trust, mutual respect, and valuing of diversity.

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Welcoming Classroom for Special Ed Students

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Welcoming Classroom for Special Ed Students

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I can remember the first time I taught students with disabilities. I was teaching sixth grade, and twelve students with IEPs had been placed in a single class period with me. Despite the fact that I'd had one whole 3-credit college course devoted entirely to special education, I was absolutely clueless. I mean, I had seen the students' IEPs, but I didn't really know how to interpret them. I was introduced to Kathy, the resource teacher who would accompany these students to class every day, but I wasn't sure what her role was or what shape our relationship was supposed to take.

And needless to say, that year was an absolute train wreck. I know I didn't serve those twelve kids well, and the remaining students also suffered, because I knew nothing about how to manage a class with such a wide range of abilities and needs.

I can only imagine how different things could have been if I'd known someone like Jam Gamble. I just discovered Jam-short for Jahmeelah-on Periscope a few weeks ago. She was talking about how she dealt with a student's misbehavior one particular day, and just listening to the love in her voice and the careful way she handled this student's feelings told me she was the kind of teacher I wanted to know. Once I realized her work focused primarily on special ed, an area I haven't given nearly enough attention to on this site, I knew I had to have her on the podcast.

Jam Gamble

Ms. Jam is a developmental services worker in Toronto, Ontario. She supports students with disabilities, holds workshops, consults, and hosts her own TV show called A Voice for All, which focuses on promoting disability awareness within the greater Toronto community.

When discussing possible topics for our interview, Jam and I talked about how many general ed teachers feel inadequately prepared to serve the needs of students with disabilities. Despite this lack of preparation, every year more teachers are likely to have these students in their classrooms. Because Jam spends every day doing this kind of work, we decided to have her share some ways general ed teachers could make their classrooms more welcoming for students with IEPs.

1. Express your fears and concerns.

When we think about making our classrooms more accessible, we tend to think primarily in terms of the physical space. "You could have the most accessible classroom in terms of space and lighting," Gamble says, "but if you don't have an accessible attitude, your classroom's not accessible."

She believes "inaccessible" attitudes stem from fear, from the discomfort of being assigned to work with a child with a disability and feeling ill-equipped to do so. She says the key to breaking through this is to admit your fears and talk to someone who can help. "You have to admit if you're nervous. You have to admit if you have worries. Then you can find the right people who could help you get over those fears."

And who are those people? "First and foremost," Gamble says, "talk to the parents. Ask them about their child. How was their summer? How was school last year? What were goals that you wanted to see manifest last year but didn't manifest that we could focus on this year? What are things they're doing outside the school that we could incorporate into their lessons? Questions like that give you so much information that you can take and run with."

The other person to confide in is the support specialist at your school. This was something I didn't really do as a general ed classroom teacher, and now I can't even imagine why. "This is someone who is there for the sole purpose of that student, and they understand a lot about inclusion and integration and program planning for this child," Gamble says. "Why wouldn't you talk to that person to get that juicy information that you need?"

2. Consult with your specialists. Regularly.

In my own experience as a classroom teacher, I rarely met with the support specialists unless I was having a problem. I didn't meet with them proactively. That was a mistake; I didn't fully understand what they had to offer.

Gamble says classroom teachers who make this effort, who reach out to the specialists in their building, get a lot in return. "I absolutely love some of the past teachers I've worked with who have come to me to like, 'I'll be honest with you. I don't know where to begin. Can we talk? Tell me what your skills are.' And I'm like, 'Yes. Oh my goodness, yes.'"

Because special ed teachers' resumes are not on display, classroom teachers may underestimate their skills and expertise. "Unless you ask me," Gamble says, "you wouldn't know I have supported people with disabilities from birth to seniors. I have a wide range of experience in terms of who I've supported, whether they're lower functioning or higher functioning, someone who's dependent or independent. I have a wide range of experience when it comes to seizures. I've worked with children who are nonverbal. I've worked with children who are verbal. I've worked with people who have echolalia. I've worked with children who have fears and phobias. I've worked with all these different people that I've taken all my personal experiences from them, and I've put it into this one big recipe book that a child could come in, and I could go, boom. I know exactly what to do."

3. Design activities that challenge everyone.

Much of the time, classroom work will need to be modified for the student with an IEP. But if we occasionally flip this-creating activities that truly level the playing field-we can give that student access while also letting others experience the world the way that student does.

"Once I had a student with a visual impairment," Gamble says, "and we created a sensory challenge where everyone had to be blindfolded, and you had to touch different objects and try to guess what they were. We did a scavenger hunt around the classroom-'Four steps to the left. Three to the right. Stop. Put your arm in front of you.'-so they could experience what it was like to move around the world with a visual impairment."

4. Recognize that parents struggle with their own discomfort and fear.

Teachers will be more successful in partnering with parents if they're aware that parents may need emotional support. "Some of these parents just received a diagnosis," Gamble explains, "so they're going through their own guilt and denial and embarrassment and shame, and all those types of emotions."

These emotions can manifest as behaviors that teachers might misinterpret. "I've had parents who are very silent. They don't want to come to the meetings. When you do get them in for a meeting, they don't have much to say...there's a wall that's up. They don't seem like they want to engage."

When encountering parents who present with challenging attitudes or behaviors, Gamble urges teachers to withhold judgment. "You have to look at the background story before you judge these parents," she says. "And unfortunately, I'm seeing too much judging happening. We're looking at their external behavior, and we're not looking at why their behavior may be happening."

She also recommends helping parents see how vital their role is. When Gamble talks with parents, she explicitly asks them for their help. "I go, 'I need you. I need you to meet me halfway. I want you to be invested in this, because I'm invested in your child...if you really want me to do the magic I'm capable of doing, I need you in on this with me, and if there's things that you're scared about, if there's things you're unsure about, let's get through this together.'"

5. Read books with students that promote diversity and inclusion.

Books are a powerful tool for building an inclusive classroom culture. Teachers should seek books for their classroom libraries that have characters with disabilities. They should also read and discuss them regularly as a class.

"We don't have to wait until Autism Awareness Month or Down Syndrome Awareness Month," Gamble says. "This needs to be a weekly thing that we talk about being different and promoting differences and celebrating it as a uniqueness and not something that we have to be cautious about."

Below are two of Gamble's favorite books for sharing with younger students, along with some other highly acclaimed books for a range of age groups.
This section contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these, Cult of Pedagogy receives a small commission at no extra cost to you. Other highly-rated books that promote inclusive thinking:
Share Your Thoughts

The posts on this site get better over time because of all the insightful comments shared by readers. If you are a general ed or special ed teacher, tell us what you've learned about making your classrooms more inclusive. Parents, share your stories about teachers that have made your child feel welcome. ♦

Where to Find Jam Gamble

Website: www.msjam.ca

Twitter: twitter.com/Iamjamgamble

Instagram: instagram.com/iamjamgamble

Learn something new every week.
Join my mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration all geared toward making your teaching more effective and fun. You'll also get access to my members-only library of free resources, including my e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, which has helped thousands of teachers spend less time grading!

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Creating a Welcoming Classroom for Students with Special Needs

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Many regular ed teachers feel inadequately prepared to serve the needs of students with special needs. Here are some ideas.

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Keep an open lane of communication!

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Listen to my interview with Liz Galarza (transcript):
How well do we know our students? They sit in our classrooms five days a week, we certainly spend lots of time with them, but how well do we really know them? How well do we know their thoughts, their worries, the things they obsess about? And how well do they ever get to know us beyond our role as a teacher?

I've been hammering away at the importance of the teacher-student relationship for about as long as Cult of Pedagogy has been a thing, but every now and then I come across a method or approach that can really help build those relationships more effectively.

My friend Liz Galarza, who teaches middle school writing in New York, has been telling me for ages about the dialogue journals she uses with her students and how transformational they have been in building relationships. The journals had such a profound impact that Galarza made them the focus of her doctoral dissertation.

A dialogue journal is any kind of bound notebook where students and teachers write letters back and forth to each other over a period of time. This is very similar to the kinds of journals described in Smokey and Elaine Daniels' book, The Best Kept Teaching Secret, but since Galarza has had such powerful experiences with these journals, I thought another post was merited.

In Galarza's class, students purchase whatever kind of journals they want, "as long as it's going to withstand a year's worth of back and forth," she says. "Most of them use the marble composition notebooks. I ask them to decorate with pictures or quotes, and it really does show their personality."

The First Entry

In the first few days of school, Galarza gets to know her students through intake forms (not included in the journals) where she asks students to tell her five things about themselves that she wouldn't be able to tell by looking at them or their school records. Next, she goes into the journals and writes the first entry, starting with a very general welcome, then beginning to connect with students based on things they wrote on their intake forms.

Although many teachers begin these kinds of journals by having students write the first entry, Galarza has had more success by starting them herself. "I think the kids who have less confidence when it comes to writing would feel paralyzed by that. So I try and make it very, very open."

In the sample letter below, Galarza connects with this student about her love of reading and writing, softball, and pets. "The first letter I ask more questions than any other time, but I get them to see that I'm human. We have commonalities. I'm interested in you. You're important to me. This is going to be fun."

Student Responses

Once the teacher's first letter is written, students write back. In this sample, Nick responds to Galarza's opening letter, where she mentioned Derek Jeter leaving the Yankees. "In his intake sheet, every single thing he wrote about was about baseball and the Yankees," so Galarza made sure she mentioned that in her first letter.

Time and Grading

As the school year progresses, the journals go back and forth between teacher and student. Galarza asks students to write one letter a week, although some students write more often than that. About once a week, Galarza will ask each class period to hand in their journals, staggering these on different days so she only has one class period per day to respond to. She takes about an hour to respond to a single class set of journals, so if it's a busy season, she may end up only collecting them every two weeks, rather than once a week.

As for grading, students are simply given credit for completion. Even if they don't write a lot, they get credit for doing it. And that's it. Galarza does not mark errors or evaluate the work for any kind of score. Because this journal is about building a relationship, Galarza doesn't want to take away its appeal by assigning a grade to it. "The more often you put a grade on something," she says, "the less empowering you're making it for the students."

Shifting the Power Differential: Because dialogue journals allow students to see their teachers as people, they shift the teacher from the "all powerful" role and create a stronger, more meaningful connection between teacher and student. "As a teacher we always have that authoritative stance: We're the teacher, and they're the student, and they know that," Galarza explains. "I think the more you use that as leverage, the less you're going to get out of students."

Writing Fluency: When students write in dialogue journals, there's no pressure to fulfill an assignment or construct perfect sentences. Students just write. And the more a person writes, the more confident they become and the better their writing gets. If the teacher can identify topics that are important to the student, this can inspire far more writing than a student would ever produce for an assignment. Nick, the student above who wrote about Derek Jeter, initially told Galarza he hated to write. After their first exchange about the Yankees, Galarza says the topic stayed with them for the rest of the year, and Nick ended up filling more pages than any other student that year.

Formative Assessment: Although the journals are not designed for this purpose, having students write regularly allows the teacher to spot errors or weaknesses that can inform teaching. "I can use the multiple language errors that I find in many of the journals as a basis for my mini-lessons," Galarza explains. "So if I see that many of my students are not using commas when they're offsetting a list, that might become a grammar mini-lesson."

Individualized Instruction: "You can literally teach them something within the journal without anyone knowing that you're doing it," Galarza says. "I've said something like, 'You know, you can use a semicolon in your sentence' ... I might even highlight it. 'You know in this sentence up here? You don't need a period there. You could use a semicolon.' I'll just throw in a little grammar instruction as we're going along only if I think that they would be receptive to it."

Mentor Texts: As the teacher and student go back and forth, students pick up on the teacher's style of writing, and the teacher's letters effectively become mentor texts. For example, when Galarza responds to her more advanced writers, "I might use a more complex sentence structure. I might combine sentences or use phrases and just more sophisticated language." Often she notices students using these same structures in their own responses.

Funds of Knowledge: Keeping dialogue journals with students over time helps teachers discover students' unique funds of knowledge, areas of expertise they might not have known about otherwise. "I had this student this year who was into taxidermy and hunting," Galarza says. "I was so interested in it, so I asked him to give me information on it, and he really did. Like technical. Like it belongs in a book. And then he drew pictures." She asked him if he ever thought about writing a comic book about hunting or taxidermy, and in his response, he considered it:

Relationships: Ultimately, the most important benefit of the journals is the relationships they build. When students feel they have a trusted adult in school, when they feel heard and seen, that makes school a place they want to come to.

"I don't look at teaching the way many people do," Galarza says. "I know that they could learn anything they need to learn from their homes with a device on their lap still in their pajamas. They don't need me to learn. They need me to care." ♦

There's a lot more where this came from.
Join the Cult of Pedagogy mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration-in quick, bite-sized packages-all geared toward making your teaching more effective and fun. You'll get access to my members-only library of free downloadable resources, including my e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half, which has helped thousands of teachers spend less time grading. If you are already a subscriber and want this resource, just check your most recent email for a link to the Members-Only Library-it's in there!

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How Dialogue Journals Build Teacher-Student Relationships

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Dialogue journals are a powerful tool for building trust with your students. Learn how they work.

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The Compliments Project | Cult of Pedagogy

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If you want to build trust in your classroom, you need to see this video about a powerful activity where students give compliments in an unforgettable way.

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https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2018/08/22/454977/building-community-schools-systems/

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Can We Talk? Tips for Respectful Conversations in Schools, Workplaces and Communities

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The ability to engage in respectful and civil conversations is the bedrock of any relationship-whether those connections take place at home, school, work or in communities.

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14 Ways to Cultivate Classroom Chemistry

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14 Ways to Cultivate Classroom Chemistry

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The Intangibles of a Celebrated Classroom

It's only September and I'm already thinking June. Not because I'm counting down days or because I wish summer were already here; I'm thinking about May because I want to be one of those teachers who breezes into a lunch conversation and says, "I'm really going to miss this class. They are such a special group." Sometimes we get lucky, there's just this natural chemistry that happens when a certain group of students auspiciously find each other in a classroom. Other times a group will bond over an experience - a shared victory or a great loss. But most of time, this "chemistry" isn't handed to us, it's something we have to go out and create.

And create we do. We cultivate relationships, we create routines, we investigate how to create communities from our classrooms. In fact, if classroom community were my Pinterest board, here's what you would see:

All of us learning each others' names

Students being grouped with classmates they might not seek out on their own and then being asked to learn something new about them

Pictures of student work posted around the classroom

Photographs of students used to organize students into groups

A class poem that we wrote together on the first day of school

Or our class webpage where students can find blog posts of our work in class and photographs of their contributions

There's no doubt that the membership, the trust, the sense of self that comes from being part of a classroom community keeps kids in school and keeps them engaged.
While creating communities takes time and patience, its more elusive partner, "culture," may be even more challenging to unearth. While fueled by a strong community, culture requires us to delve into creating shared values, beliefs and attitudes about learning. In our room, we call these dispositions and realizing them starts by elevating us all to the status of learner.

Building culture is an ongoing process for me. I learned early in my career that building classroom culture varies from year to year and depends entirely on the mindset of the students who walk into the room. This means that I have tried and am always trying new approaches. This year is no exception. If you walked into our classroom you'd see and hear the ways I'm purposefully building culture:

You would hear "we" more than "me" or "you"

You would see my desk in the back of the classroom

You would pause on your way through the door to look in a mirror while reading the phrase "Today, see yourself_____________." Right now it projects "See yourself building confidence."

You would overhear us talk about learning more than about tasks or grades

You would be drawn to the "pizza pan poetry" that reminds us we're always immersed in language

You would snicker while I geek out giving a book talk on this unique collection of children's poems I just found

You would notice the curious mantra, "Tell me what your brain is doing right now."

You would see the language of our learning dispositions on the wall, always reminding us of our real purpose

I like to think that community is our sense of belonging and culture ensures the value of what we belong to. So however we go about it, these "strategies" create that "know it when you see it" community and that "love it when you live it" culture.

After all, when Community and Culture take their rightful places in the desks of our classrooms, we can look forward to a June when we didn't just finish a school year, but put learning in its rightful place: their heads and our shared ideals.
Sarah Brown Wessling is a high school English teacher in Johnston, Iowa. She is the 2010 National Teacher of the Year and is the Teacher Laureate for Teaching Channel. Connect with Sarah on Twitter - @SarahWessling.

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14 Ways to Create Your Classroom Community

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It's only September and I'm already thinking June. Not because I'm counting down days or because I wish summer were already here; I'm thinking about May because I want to be one of those teachers who breezes into a lunch conversation and says, "I'm really going to miss this class.

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Learners Edge is lucky enough to review outstanding coursework from teachers across the country. Sometimes their coursework is so fantastic, we think it needs to be shared! Below are some great suggestions from submitted coursework along with some ideas from our own Curriculum and Instruction team on how to build community within your classroom...

There they are - staring at you. Cute lil' folks in desks or at tables, looking a little fearful but mostly excited, catching side glances from their buddies. You stare back - trying to figure out what you were supposed to be doing with them, completely drawing a blank and your heart beginning the telltale palpitations of increased nervous adrenaline....

For many students, and not just those who live in poverty or suffer from trauma, school is a place of routine, stability, even safety. As excited as you are to be back at school, your students need to see from you a message of love, welcome, and most importantly, that you truly value each and every child. Time spent building community is time extremely well spent. Below are 4 steps you can implement in your classroom to help with your classroom management and help create a sense of community.

1. Introduce morning meeting. You can create a sense of community by consistently holding a morning meeting. Have your students design a poster or anchor chart to display in the classroom. Dedicate the first 30 minutes of each day to this important social-emotional learning and building relationships.

2. Establish rules together. At the beginning of the year, discuss and come to agreement on classroom rules and expectations. Students can and should be reminded of the classroom rules/procedures and practice them daily. Discuss how and why these rules help students stay safe, learn respect, and how the rules help them learn and care about others. You can provide positive affirmations when students follow the classroom rules.

1. Greet each student as they enter the room, everyday. Some teachers stand at the door, some play music, while other write a daily quote on the board. Whatever you decide, do your best to get the day started of in a way that tells your students you care. These small gestures lets each student feel acknowledged and starts the day out on a positive note.

2. Focus on relationships from day one. From the very first day, provide students with opportunities to share their voice and experiences with one another. When we know our students, and our students know each other, we feel safe, supported and respected. The stronger our community, the fewer conflicts we have. When problems do arise, this strong foundation carries us through and helps find real solutions.

Community is vital in creating a successful classroom, but it doesn't just happen. A teacher needs to plan, prepare, and implement procedures and expectations (with the help of students), to consistently make creating a community of learners a priority.

Want to explore numerous ways to establish an ongoing social curriculum while creating a strong sense of community in the classroom? Enroll in Course 993: Shaping Respectful, Responsible Learners In Your Classroom and learn the tools and techniques for creating a classroom community that is nurturing, respectful and full of learning.

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Learners Edge is lucky enough to review outstanding coursework from teachers across the country. Sometimes their coursework is so fantastic, we think it needs to be shared! Below are some great suggestions from submitted coursework along with some ideas from our own Curriculum and Instruction team on how to build community within your classroom...

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Learn how to be respectful to all students, and to avoid "casual" racism in the classroom

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Learn how to be respectful to all students, and to avoid "casual" racism in the classroom

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This week on the Truth for Teachers podcast: 10 things every white teacher should know when talking about race in the classroom
Let's start by addressing the elephant in the room- why I am talking only to white people? Isn't that racist?

(Hold that question in your mind, because I want you to ask yourself that same question again after you've read my words here, and see if your thought process has changed.)

I'm specifically addressing white people in this episode because around 83% of teachers in the U.S. are white. Most of you reading my blog are in fact, white. Conversations about race are super prevalent right now and for many white people, it feels like stepping into a minefield.

They have literally no idea what to say, or feel like they don't understand the history of people of color enough to contribute much to the conversation. Or, they say something they think is totally valid but inadvertently offend people of color in the discussion. Or get their own feelings hurt because they feel "attacked," vowing to never, ever enter another conversation about race again.

This can't happen, teacher friends. It really hurts my heart to see so many misunderstandings in our country around race right now, particular when it's among white teachers who are shaping the next generation of minds. Teachers are smart, thoughtful people tasked with raising up young people to be leaders. We cannot be ignorant about race or avoid talking about it.

Now, I am no expert on race relations in America. And I can't presume to speak on behalf of people of color. I don't know their full experience. But I also don't think it's fair to ask a person of color to be the spokesperson for his or her race, or to make him/her not only bear the burdens of marginalization but also educate white people on why it happens and how it's so harmful.

People of color have no choice but to think about and understand race on a daily basis. It's really up to us as white people to educate ourselves to the same level. So while teachers of color are certainly welcome to listen to this episode, I probably don't have much to teach them. They're miles ahead of me and most of us as white people, because their survival and success is dependent upon them understanding the racial "rules" in this country.

But I'm going to start here, today, by sharing what I know now as best as I can, because if I wait until I understand everything fully, there will never be an episode about race on Truth for Teachers. And this can't wait. I want every white teacher, particularly those who teach black and brown students, to understand some fundamental truths. These principles can completely transform your relationship with your students, their families, and the community you teach in, and I hope you'll be open to my words in light of that.

So this episode is for those who are frustrated with conversations about race right now, and also for those who want to have hard conversations, support their students, and step up as advocates and allies, but just don't know how to talk about racial issues and are afraid of saying the wrong thing. I hope the information I share today will help you feel more confident in having those tough conversations that are so, so important, and empower you to be a more culturally responsive teacher.
Click play to listen to the episode, or download it to listen on the go:
1. Racism is not necessarily about holding hate in your heart toward other people or consciously believing you are superior because you're white.

99.9% of people do not describe themselves as racist because they think that means being a Neo-Nazi or KKK member. However, the racism you keep hearing people talk about these days is far more than some limited dictionary definition, and we need to look at the bigger picture.

Racism is about contributing to or looking the other way in the face of acts or systems that marginalize people of color. Racism is a systemic issue. So, if you are complicit in policies and systems that are oppressive to people of color, you are contributing to racism in this country. If you look the other way or deny that these systems exist, you are part of the problem.

Just as a man can be married to a woman and still hold sexist beliefs, you can subconsciously hold ideologies of white supremacy even if you have Black friends.

You can know in your heart that you don't hate anyone but still contribute to their oppression.

You can love Black culture, music, and slang while benefitting from systems that are designed to elevate you above Black people in social status.

The worst thing you can do is take a knee-jerk reaction to any mention of racism and assume it doesn't apply to you. We all have a lot to learn and examine in that area. No white person, including myself, is exempt. We ALL need to do the work in uncovering and rooting out bias and internalized anti-Blackness.

2. There is no such thing as reverse racism.

It's just not possible, because as we've established, racism cannot exist without a history of systemic oppression and marginalization. Racism is rooted in privilege and power.

People of color may hold prejudice toward white people or be biased against us. But prejudice and racism are very different things-it's not just semantics.

You have to look at which groups of people have historically had the privilege and power in this country in order to fully understand how racism works.

Racism is rooted in a SYSTEM of white supremacy, so it's about more than just how individuals treat one another. I think this article explains it much better than I could.

That's a deep topic, but for now, it's enough to know that encountering a student or parent who says something rude to or about you as a white person does not make you a victim of racism. Their actions-while unkind and harmful to your relationship-may be the result of frustration with white privilege and constant marginalization on a daily basis.

As a white person, you may bear the brunt of that frustration from a couple of individuals on occasion. You are not, however, the victim of reverse racism. There is no systemic oppression happening or larger patterns of mistreatment that are based on you having less power and privilege than people of color.

That is why racism does not "go both ways." It goes in one direction: from the group who holds the power and privilege toward the groups who do not.

That's a very simplified statement, of course, and doesn't account for intersectionality (a term meaning that oppressive institutions are interconnected, so it's important to consider how racism, sexism, homophobia, and so on are related.) Individuals hold privilege and power in many varying degrees, and we'll explore that in a future episode.
EDITED TO ADD: I've seen several comments from white people who said they shut down after this section and refused to keep reading, because they found it so invalidating of how they've been mistreated by other races. If your own experiences as a white person leave you unable to read an article about how systemic racism affects people of color, I'd encourage you to skip ahead to number 8, and check out the part about centering whiteness.
3. There are different rules for white people and people of color when talking about race.

No, you're not imagining this. There ARE different rules, and this is not a secret. It's because of these systems of power and privilege I explained previously. The rules for survival and success in this country are not the same for all groups of people, and therefore the way different groups of people talk about race is not the same.

Don't frustrate yourself by trying to figure out why Black people can say the N word and white people can't. Focus on trying to understand the bigger issues of privilege and race, and the smaller details like that will make a lot more sense to you later on.

When you hear people of color talking about race (or just talking about life in general amongst themselves), the least helpful thing you can do is to try to police their tone or correct the way they express themselves.

Instead, accept that their lived experiences are different than yours: they are treated differently and see the world differently. The rules for how to talk and behave for people of color have never been the same as the rules for those who are white.

4. It is not racist (nor is it "creating division") for people of color to talk about how they experience the world differently than white people. Colorblindness is not a thing to aspire to.

I see a lot of white people try to shut down these conversations by saying, "Why do we have to make everything about race?", as if brown and black people need to pretend race doesn't exist and stop focusing on our differences.
Those differences have always been there, it's just that for most of our country's history, people of color weren't allowed to publicly voice their experiences.
You may not have been aware of the differences or problems, but that doesn't mean they didn't happen...and not talking about them now doesn't mean those issues will go away.

Yes, it can be very uncomfortable to witness or participate in these conversations about racism as a white person. I'd imagine it's far more uncomfortable to actually live with that racism as a non-white person. The bare minimum we can do is avoid invalidating their experiences and silencing them by trying to ignore or deflect any mention of race.

Don't defend your point of view by claiming to be colorblind and saying "I don't see color!" You do see color, unless you have a literal visual impairment. And you should see color, because a person being brown or Black is not a shameful attribute we have to pretend we haven't noticed.
Even if your intention is to communicate that you love and treat all people the same, please know: a) That's probably not true because we all have unconscious biases, and b) Your personal inclusiveness doesn't mean that systemic racism no longer exists.
5. If you have been told that it IS racist to see or talk about color, that was probably in a situation where you were pointing out race in a completely irrelevant context.

For example, if you tell a story about one of your students and say, "this little Black boy in my class today said the cutest thing," someone may object to you using that as a descriptor. But it's not because there's something wrong with being Black and therefore you were supposed to pretend that he isn't.

The reason it's inappropriate to mention race in this context has to do with the presumption that white is normal and anything other than white is different and needs to be specified. What you may not realize is that when you say, "this black boy in my class" in one anecdote, and then in the next anecdote, say "this other boy in my class", the message you're conveying is that you and the person you are talking to should automatically assume the child is white, unless you specify otherwise. You've made white the default.

By only pointing out race for people of color and not ever saying "this white boy," a subtle message is sent that white is the norm and a person of color is an "other" or "different." So when race is irrelevant, don't mention it.

Here's a slightly similar example. If you've ever had a student refer to you as "that white lady" then you know how uncomfortable it can feel to have your race pointed out when it seems irrelevant, and how it makes you feel like an outsider. It feels like you got an unnecessary, unexpected reminder that the student and his/her friends are all the same race and they see you as different from them. It's not a good feeling, so don't make people of other races feel that way.

And again, don't get hung up on why people of color can say certain things and you can't. The onus is not on marginalized groups to be inclusive of us. Or to be really blunt: it's not the job of minorities to make white people feel normal and like we belong. In this country, we've always seen ourselves front and center...in movies, award shows, commercials, leadership positions, government, everywhere.
We've always known we belonged and were valued and held power and authority. That's the basis of white privilege.
Our viewpoints and accomplishments have never been in danger of being overlooked and ignored, so we don't need any special protections, recognition, or careful consideration for being white.

What white teachers need to know when speaking about & to students of color Click To Tweet

6. Use descriptors of race that are both inclusive and empowering.

Sometimes in conversation, you may need to use race as a differentiating factor, and it may feel awkward to avoid mentioning it. In those situations, say it, just don't make it the sole factor. So if someone says, "Which student is being dismissed early today?" don't say, "the Hispanic girl right there." Give the child another attribute rather than defining her only by her ethnicity: "the tall Hispanic girl in the red sweater" or better yet, just "the tall girl in the red sweater."

When it's appropriate to mention, try to use race as an adjective, not a noun. Though you'll commonly hear people saying whites, Blacks, Asians, etc., it's better to say white people, Black people, Asian people, etc. Their race/ethnicity is just part of who they are as people, so we don't want to reduce others to ONLY their race. Put more simply, it conveys greater respect to say "Black people" than "blacks" (or worse, "the blacks.")

You may have noticed a subtle shift in recent years about which terms are preferred. Saying "minorities" isn't necessarily accurate, and that's a term I tend to stay away from. (After all, if a school is 90% Latinx, then THEY are the majority.) Plus, people of color are actually the global majority.

The term "minority" points out diminished status and power. It conveys: "There are fewer of them than there are of us." That's not a subtle reminder that we want to continually reinforce.

How about African-American? While certainly not an offensive term (and in some cases it's even the preferred term), it can be perceived as inaccurate. The choice to pair an ethnic description with the "-American" hyphenation is increasingly used only for immigrants or first-generation Americans. If a person's family has had no ties to Africa for centuries, they may prefer not to be called African-American. Of course, individual preference matters. Black Americans aren't a monolithic group and some may identify strongly with the term African-American because of the term's empowering history.

Similarly, "indigenous people" is a common term now for American Indians or Native Americans (even though neither of those two terms are necessarily outdated, and may still be the preferred term for individuals.) "Indigenous people" is simply a more accurate term, since it acknowledges that this land was theirs to begin with, long before America existed.

When you're not sure which term to use, consider "people of color" (which is abbreviated as PoC.) It's an all-encompassing term that is inclusive and generally regarded as empowering. So you might say things like, "we have many people of color in our school community" or ask "How will this regulation affect students of color?" And of course, i f you mean Black people specifically, say "Black people."

If you find yourself feeling frustrated as you read this, keep in mind these are not arbitrary rules made up for the sake of "political correctness" that will be impossible for you to remember. Language is always evolving. When you understand the reasoning behind the shifts in language, it will be easy for you to keep up, and instinctive for you to use respectful terms.

As a teacher, we know that words matter. It's not unreasonable to ask that we affirm our students' and families' dignity in the language that we choose. If you're unsure of what a person's preferred term is, ask.
No time to finish reading now? Download the audio for later.
7. Develop a listen-first ethic when a conversation turns to race, rather than insisting that race is irrelevant.

Remember that YOUR perception of when race applies is going to be different than a person of color's perspective.

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I know this is hard to understand, but maybe if you're a female, you can relate to another example. How many times have you heard men say things that are dismissive or subtly disrespectful toward women and they don't even realize what they've said is cringe-worthy?

We as women tend to see sexism much more clearly than the average man, because we've experienced its harmful effects, often in very subtle, hard-to-prove ways every single day. Sometimes these are called micro-aggressions, and they happen with racial dynamics as well.

Men have the privilege of "not seeing" misogynistic undertones in certain situations because misogyny doesn't affect them personally (hence the term 'mansplaining' was invented.) White people have the privilege of "not seeing" race in an issue because it doesn't affect us personally. That does not mean it doesn't exist and people aren't really experiencing it. Avoid whitesplaining.

If you don't see how race is related to a topic when others bring it up, ask yourself, "What am I not understanding about how race is connected to this issue, & how can I learn more?"

8. You can prevent knee-jerk defensiveness by actively working to de-center your experiences as a white person in conversations about race.

White people enslaved millions of Africans for hundreds of years. Having this fact pointed out should not make you immediately proclaim your personal innocence or start citing evidence about Black people who also owned slaves.

Don't deflect. Don't get defensive. Don't cry. You didn't enslave people. You're not responsible for that and if you listen or read closely, you'll find that no one is trying to hold you responsible for that.
You are, however, responsible for not perpetuating white supremacy now. Remember, you're not off the hook because you denounce the KKK.
It is not enough to be pro-diversity. We need to be anti-racism. We need to be actively dismantling systems that oppress and marginalize those who are not white.
You are not responsible for what other white people have done, but you ARE responsible for whether you are currently upholding the systems that elevate white people over people of color.

No one is claiming that white people can't be poor or have a hard life. But, your life won't be hard BECAUSE you're white.

If you think that white privilege does not apply to you because you're not rich and your life hasn't been easy, you are responsible for educating yourself on how you benefit on a daily basis from the racial caste system that still exists.

You are also responsible for your reaction to hearing people of color discuss oppression. That's actually the easy part. All you have to do is listen.

You don't have to insert your opinion or experience into every story a person of color is telling about his or her life. This is often referred to as "centering white people," as in, we are so used to being at the center of every story, the hero in every book and movie, the victor in every battle, that it's hard for us to hear about narratives that center the experiences of people of color.
The very best response-and also the easiest, because you don't have to come up with anything brilliant to add-is LISTEN, and amplify the experiences of people of color by sharing them.
That's it. Not clarify that "all white people aren't bad" or shift the conversation to how YOU aren't like that, you're one of the good ones! (See how tempting it is to center ourselves?)

Listen. Learn. Empathize. Relate.

If you are truly doing those things, a person of color talking about problematic experiences with white people or history will not feel like an attack on you. I promise you that, and I'm speaking as a fellow white person who has heard and read thousands of these conversations over the years and has truly never, ever been offended by the even the harshest remarks about white people.

It only feels like an attack when you are shut down, in denial, or centering your feelings in the conversation.
The "privilege walk" shown here was conducted by participants who were paid to create a video as a teaching tool. Please do not replicate this experiment with students or even adults. The visible representation of privilege could be painful for participants and we don't need to ask people of color to participate in things like this in order for us to learn about privilege.
9. When someone hits a sore spot and you realize you've said, done, or felt something that you didn't realize could be insensitive, avoid rationalizing your actions.

I'll give you an example that happened to me a couple weeks ago.

You know how it's a trendy thing to talk about spirit animals? As in, "Oh, such and such celebrity is my spirit animal" or "that laughing baby gif is my spirit animal!" It's a common expression in popular culture meant to convey that a person or thing resonates with you.

I've used that expression on occasion...until I read the Twitter feed of someone who identifies as an indigenous person. She explained that having white people appropriate the term spirit animal is super offensive, because spirit animals are a deeply sacred aspect of a culture which has been almost completely erased by a white nation state. So to have white people-or anyone, really-trivialize something that means so much in her culture, a culture that has a long history of being devalued, censored, and systematically wiped out, is hurtful to her.

My gut reaction upon hearing this was to think, "Oh. Crap. I have totally said that and had no idea it could be offensive. Ugh. That's embarrassing. Well, at least now I know not to ever do it again."
I realized I have made jokes that could be offensive, and now that I knew better, I wouldn't do it again. It's really that simple.
I'm not a terrible, hopelessly racist person for saying it. I'm not going to berate myself endlessly for having said something offensive.

I'm not going to launch into the whole "it's not my fault I'm white" mode and excuse my ignorance, as if Google doesn't exist and I couldn't have learned about these issues on my own without someone having to hold my hand and walk me through why my comments were problematic.

I'm also not going to make excuses about how it's just a joke and everyone says it so people should stop being offended by everything. Remember, the offense is rooted in systemic oppression and marginalization over hundreds of years.

It's not about the one joke or term. These are issues that affect generations and aren't just things you can "get over" when they impact your daily life.

So instead, I'm just going to own it: Welp, I said something many times that was insensitive. It's never my goal to be insulting or hurt people, so I'm going to be careful not to do that again.

The end. No defensiveness or denial. Owning it. Moving on.

10. The solution is not to "stop making everything about race" and just all come together as one. We have to be anti-racism, not anti-talking-about-race.
Avoiding all mention of discrimination and oppression does not mean those things stop happening. It just means you as a white person don't have to deal with it anymore.
As a teacher, you have a responsibility to understand that people of color don't have the privilege of not thinking or talking about race.

We can unite as a nation when we acknowledge problems do exist, and they exist because our systems were never designed to treat all people equally. In nearly every state, our founding fathers determined that only white men who owned property could vote and have a say in how the country operates.

The system was never, ever designed to give equality to the poor who didn't own property ... or women ... or indigenous people the land was taken from ... or Africans who were brought here in chains and forced for generations to provide free labor that created financial prosperity for white families.

The system is unjust, but it's not broken. It was built this way.

Unity and healing come when we dismantle the current system and build a new one. We can heal when we acknowledge the reality of people of color and other marginalized groups in this country.

Healing comes when we as white people start to see our own privilege and dismantle systems built on white supremacy that hold our lives and rights as being greater than those of other people.

That's going to be a long, painful, messy process, because when you're used to privilege, equality feels like oppression. We have to be up to that challenge.

This is not about hating white people, it's about hating white supremacy.

It's not about taking white people down, it's about elevating people of color. We as white people are not more deserving of human or civil rights than anyone else.

My challenge to you today is to move beyond the conception of yourself as being colorblind or pro-diversity. Instead, start being anti-racism and do the work. Examine yourself and your biases. Know your blind spots.

Listen to people of color and teachers of color. Have the hard conversations even if you might not say exactly the right thing. Step up to fight the everyday racism you encounter. It's not going to be easy, it's going to be worth it.

UPDATED SEPT. 2017: A lot of people have commented asking what they should do next. What exactly is the solution?

1. Start with self-examination and begin the lifelong habit of rooting out your own biases. I've linked to about 15 articles in this post that will help with that. Everything I've said in this article has already been written about in countless other blog posts and books. Don't wait for someone to hold your hand through the journey: Google a specific topic or phrase that really hit home with you, and go from there. We ALL have internalized anti-blackness (even people of color!) because our ways have thinking have been influenced by living in a white supremacist society. Therefore understanding and working through your own limitations and prejudices is the MOST important thing you can do, and will better equip you to begin doing the actual work of fighting for racial justice.

2. Make racial justice a normal part of your conversation with other white people. Be cognizant of inequity and white supremacy, and speak up when you see it. Don't be afraid to call out micro-aggressions and lend an additional perspective in conversations that leave out issues of equity. Challenge fellow white folks when they make "colorblind" remarks. This is difficult to do with close friends and family, but your opinion means the most in those arenas, so it's imperative to speak up.

3. Look for activists who are people of color, and follow their pages on social media so you can hear their perspective on a regular basis about a variety of issues. (EmbraceRace and Raising Race-Conscious Children are a good start on Facebook, Educolor on Twitter, and this list by Tamara Russell for Instagram.) This is a particularly important step if you feel like you are in a bubble and all your Facebook friends talk about the same things from the same perspective. Diversify your feed, read, listen, learn.

4. Amplify the voices of those already doing this work and support them financially. Resist the urge to center yourself and rushing to "do" something when you're still in the beginning stages of becoming conscious about racial justice. Instead, look for people who are further along and find ways to support them by sharing/talking about their work within your sphere of influence, and donating to the cause. Give money directly to organizations run by people of color so they can continue the work.

Here are more anti-bias and anti-racist resources you can explore.It includes a list of people who have pushed my thinking in this area, as well as books you can read and organizations you can donate to. In the meantime, I encourage you to keep seeking out this info on your own. The resources are already out there and their creators would love your support!

The internal work of self-education and self-examination is the foundational piece that many white people skip in an eagerness to "fix everything" and begin righting wrongs. Make it your goal to instead self-examine and understand how you benefit from, support, and uphold white supremacy; only then will you be equipped to help dismantle it.
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10 things every white teacher should know when talking about race

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This week on the Truth for Teachers podcast: 10 things every white teacher should know when talking about race in the classroom Let's start by addressing the elephant in the room- why I am talking only to white people? Isn't that racist?

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This intervention uses review of classroom behavioral expectations, daily prompts, and (optional) student self-monitoring ' spot-checks' to improve classroom behaviors.

Materials:

Respectful Classroom poster (see attachment at the bottom of this page)

(optional) student Respectful Classroom self-monitoring slips

Steps in Implementing This Intervention

Step 1:(Optional) Select an incentive that students can earn, either individually or as a group for appropriate classroom behavior.

For example, you may decide each week to award individual students grade points for exemplary behavior. Or you may instead create a classwide reward system, with points earned by individual students being added to the class total toward cumulative reward such as a pizza party.

Step 2: Set aside at least 15 minutes at the start of a class period to introduce the Respectful Classroom program.

Tell students that they are expected to follow the behavioral expectations listed on the "Respectful Classroom" poster that accompanies this intervention description.

For each of the behaviors below, give examples in which students would be in compliance or out of compliance, demonstrate (through role play and discussion) what these respectful behaviors look like, and answer any questions students may have about how each behavior is defined:

Respectful Classroom Behavioral Expectations:

Use a respectful tone of voice

Do not tease others or call them names

Follow adult requests quickly and without complaint

Pay attention in class and get our assigned work done

Step 3: Follow these guidelines when the program has begun:

At the start of each class period, pick one of the four behavioral expectations listed on the Respectful Classroom chart. Select a different behavior each day. Take 2 minutes to remind students of the rule and review examples of it. During the class period single out at least 3 students and praise them for using the behavior being showcased that day.

If a student clearly violates one of the posted rules, call the student's attention to the fact that he or she broke a rule. Ask the student to read the posted Respectful Classroom rules and to acknowledge which rule he or she violated. Ask the student what they might have selected as a better behavioral choice.

Inform the child that if he or she complains about your taking a point, you will deduct additional good behavior points.

Step 4:(optional) Once or twice per week, hand out student self-monitoring slips at the end of class. (Pick dates for student self-monitoring randomly so students cannot know beforehand if they will be rated.)

Tell students to think about how well their behavior in class that day conformed to the Respectful Classroom expectations--and to rate their behavior globally on the slip.

Collect the slips and dismiss the class, but randomly select 3-5 students to remain. Briefly review their behavioral ratings with each of the selected students. Give them feedback about why you agree or disagree with their ratings. Change a student's rating if it appears unrepresentative of their actual behavior.

Review all slips collected. If you agree with the student's rating and that student rates himself or herself at 3 or higher on the self-monitoring slip, assign the student points toward whatever incentive or reward program you have set up. If a student gets a rating below 3, make a point to meet with that student to discuss his or her behaviors.

Troubleshooting: How to Deal With Common Problems in Using 'Smooth Classroom Traffic'

Q: I like the framework for using this intervention but I want to customize the list of classroom behavior goals. Can I substitute some of my own classroom behavioral expectations for those on your Respectful Classroom list?

Feel free to customize, add to, delete from, or otherwise change any of the behavioral goals used in this intervention to match the needs of your classroom.

Q: I am using the Respectful Classroom intervention but am finding that it is becoming less effective. What can I do?

If you find that this intervention's effectiveness is fading, here are some suggestions for strengthening it:

Be sure that you are selecting and reviewing a Respectful Classroom behavior daily with students at the start of class and that you are singling out 2-3 students each day in the classroom who are showing the positive target behavior you have picked to emphasize.

If you are having students monitor their classroom behavior weekly, check to be sure that you are selecting random days for monitoring (so that students cannot predict beforehand what days will include self-monitoring). Also, promptly award to the class any incentives, privileges, or prizes that they have earned through their positive behavior.

If you are running the program as designed and yet your students still appear to have lost interest, hold a class meeting. Tell students that you want to recognize and reward their good study behaviors. Ask your students for suggestions for how to make the program more relevant and interesting to them while helping you to achieve your goal of maintaining a respectful classroom environment where problem behaviors do not interfere with student learning.

Jim's Hints

This strategy gives you the option of including student self-monitoring and reward elements if you choose. The Respectful Classroom intervention is likely to work without these added components but will probably be quite a bit more effective if it includes them.

As student behaviors improve, you may want to gradually 'fade' the procedure by only occasionally reviewing the expected behaviors at the start of class and by having students self-monitor less frequently than once per week.

If you are having students self-monitor and are finding that a student chronically exaggerates his or her behavior ratings, you may want to call that student routinely for 'spot-checks' until the student learns to rate his or her behaviors more accurately.

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This intervention uses review of classroom behavioral expectations, daily prompts, and (optional) student self-monitoring ' spot-checks' to improve classroom behaviors. Respectful Classroom poster (see attachment at the bottom of this page) (optional) student Respectful Classroom self-monitoring slips Step 1:(Optional) Select an incentive that students can earn, either individually or as a group for appropriate classroom behavior.

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Treat student's behavior as learning opportunities rather than just punishing them. 

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Treat student's behavior as learning opportunities rather than just punishing them. 

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Social and Emotional Learning

Restorative justice allows everyone affected by a harm to return to a calm state that is optimal for learning.

©Shutterstock/Monkey Business Images

Restorative justice (RJ) offers healthy alternatives to the traditional disciplinary approach of rules and the consequences of breaking those rules. RJ practices such as peer conflict resolution circles, reflection sheets that guide conversations with a teacher or administrator, and mediated student-student or student-adult conversations are practices that allow students and communities to feel safe and successful together.

While traditional rules-and-consequences discipline is sometimes effective in stopping detrimental behaviors, it may have negative effects on the long-term resilience and connection within the community. It's worth considering the impact that such discipline has on our nervous systems, on the relationships within our schools, and on students' identity and self-esteem, and what RJ has to offer as an alternative.

The Nervous System and Our Sense of Connection

Picture a student who has just passed a note in class or pushed a peer in the hallway and a teacher who has caught this student in the act. In this moment of rule violation and the confrontation that follows, the student, the teacher, and sometimes even nearby observers can experience a sympathetic nervous system response-muscular tension, an increase in heart rate, elevated levels of cortisol and adrenaline, and shortness of breath-also known as the "fight, flight, freeze, or submit" response. This is the body preparing to protect itself from a real or perceived threat or danger.

When a traditional rules-and-consequences approach is used to address errant behavior, the misbehaving student is often left to regulate their nervous system on their own-or not, as we see with students who transgress in the morning and then continue to act out or have a difficult time focusing throughout the day.

For an educator or administrator, it can be taxing when a student continues to act out and/or worrisome when a student begins to exhibit detrimental emotions and self-destructive behaviors. Simply punishing a behavior doesn't allow for space to inquire about the motivation behind a misstep or what's needed to repair the harm.

RJ practices help all community members involved to calm or regulate their nervous systems by focusing on authentic reconnection after a rupture occurs. When we're connected, we naturally feel safer and our nervous systems have a better chance of returning to the parasympathetic "rest and digest" mode that is optimal for learning.

RJ practices allow us to recognize how the offender, victim, witnesses, and guiding adult are all impacted by the harm that occurred, and will all benefit from a reparative or restorative process to feel safe again in the school environment.

Applied in various ways, RJ practices always ask all parties involved:

What happened?

What harm was caused?

What needs to happen to repair the harm?

Through RJ, students and adults learn about each other's perspectives and build empathy and understanding, developing a greater sense of trust in one another. The transgressing student has the opportunity to repair harm by acknowledging their wrongdoing, expressing remorse, and taking action based upon the victim's needs to repair trust. Victims are able to share their experience, offer forgiveness, and make amends. Having a chance to rebuild relationship after a misstep and to foster empathy, attunement, and accountability helps the whole community to feel safe and more connected.

No matter the level of severity of a rule violation-even when a student is asked to leave a community-the RJ process fortifies compassion and empathy for others and humanizes the experience of mistake-making.

Supporting Self-Esteem

When someone-a student or an adult-feels unsafe at home or experiences discrimination for their background, identity, or other reasons, they may come to school with an already overstimulated nervous system. This means it's easier for them to become dysregulated-to experience a sympathetic fight, flee, freeze, or submit response-during a rule violation or enforcement moment.

Psychologically, a student who breaks a rule and receives punishment may begin to identify as a "bad kid," and may be seen by their peers as someone who always get into trouble-a cycle that is sometimes repeated again and again. Through the reflective processes of RJ, this student can instead learn about the impact of their actions and reflect upon their membership in the community. They have a chance to grow self-esteem and to perceive themselves as a human who has made a mistake or bad decision and is taking responsibility for their actions.

Rather than simply doling out a punishment without guidance, RJ reminds us all that mistakes are learning opportunities for growth and that offenders have the opportunity to take responsibility for their behavior, repair the harm they have caused, and work toward a positive outcome.

A learning community that engages in connection building to repair harm becomes more resilient over time via more trusting connections between community members, increased self-awareness and compassion, and regulated nervous systems.

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How Restorative Justice Helps Students Learn | Edutopia

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Social and Emotional Learning Restorative justice allows everyone affected by a harm to return to a calm state that is optimal for learning. ©Shutterstock/Monkey Business Images Restorative justice (RJ) offers healthy alternatives to the traditional disciplinary approach of rules and the consequences of breaking those rules.

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Listen to my interview with Jim Sturtevant (transcript):
[This post contains Amazon Affiliate links; if you make a purchase from Amazon after going there through my links, I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks.]

I'll never forget what one of my college professors told me when I was studying to become a teacher. She said the number one factor in our effectiveness as teachers would be the relationships we built with our students. She felt so strongly about this that she paused, looked around so she could make eye contact with every person in the room, then repeated it: "More important than anything else you do as a teacher is the relationship you build with your students."

I kind of didn't believe her. I mean, I understood what she meant in theory, but I was pretty sure that planning interesting lessons and having a clear set of classroom guidelines were at least as important as "relationships." I appeared to be listening attentively, but inside, I thought she was a little off the mark.

That was before I started teaching. Now I agree with her 100 percent. And even before I started reading James Sturtevant's book, You've Gotta Connect - just skimming the table of contents - I knew I had found a kindred spirit, someone who believed the same as me and my college professor, that the relationships you build with your students are the key to working wonders in your classroom.
You've Gotta Connect: Building Relationships That Lead to Engaged Students, Productive Classrooms, and Higher Achievement
by James Sturtevant, 278 pages, Incentive Publications, March 2014
And the book definitely lived up to the promises made by that quick preview. You've Gotta Connect is full of practical, actionable advice and loaded with tools to strengthen the quality of your connection with students.

Although I recommend you read the whole book, here are a few take-away lessons from the book that can improve the way you connect with students right now:

1. Drop the nostalgia. One big barrier to connecting with students is our nostalgia for the past, the way we constantly compare our current students with the (better) ones we used to teach. "Do you remember earlier teaching years when parents were more involved and students were less hostile? Do you wish you were in that other school where you taught before - where you had fewer discipline problems and struggled with fewer slackers? Do you pine for last year when you got through all the material with students who behaved pretty well and seemed to enjoy learning? I don't know any teacher who does not have bouts of nostalgia. But hear me now: you've gotta let go of it! This nostalgia interferes with connection to present students. It keeps you from seeing THESE students - their needs and gifts" (52).

2. Tell your own stories. When you share parts of your own personal life with students, they get more comfortable sharing their own, and this is how connections are made. "Try to tell some sort of a personal story about once a week. It doesn't have to be long. It does not have to be earth shattering. When you get a lot of feedback or stories of their own, you know you have struck gold!" (202).

3. Learn their culture. Students live in a very different world than the one we lived in at their age. "You are, by definition, not 'one of them.' You don't need to and should not be 'one of them.' If you want to connect to them, however, they must immediately sense that you value them" (81). Sturtevant urges us to learn about students' musical tastes, the movies and T.V. shows they're into, and the slang terms they use. "These actions show you care enough to pay attention to their world, even if it pulls you a bit out of your comfort zone to do so" (86).

4. Keep prying. Keep persisting. Be patient. With students who are slower to warm up, we need to put our egos aside and just keep trying. "Gentle, focused nudging of a reluctant student toward being comfortable enough to open up a bit" is what will ultimately get you there, but don't rush it: "Be cool! You have time, perhaps all year. The goal is to have a strong relationship as soon as possible, but accept that it may not happen until late in the game" (88-89).

5. Run toward trouble. Connecting with students isn't just about smiles and funny stories. "Troubled times are the best times for connection," Sturtevant writes (226). "Be on the lookout for difficult times, blowups, setbacks, failures, hurt, and disappointments," resolve problems in a constructive, respectful way, and your connection to those students will be stronger.

You'll get a lot of insight by reading You've Gotta Connect on your own, but it would also make an excellent book for group study. Sturtevant has included dozens of hands-on tools you can use to develop and examine your own practice, like the "Environment Stealth Check" worksheet, which asks you to sit in your teacher's lounge and tally up the number of positive comments you hear about students versus the number of negative comments you hear, or the "Anatomy of a Conflict" worksheet, where you break down the components of past conflicts and get a clearer understanding of how you might have handled them better. These reproducible tools help you take the theories and ideas Sturtevant presents and apply them to your own teaching.

I also had the privilege of interviewing James Sturtevant for my podcast. In our conversation, he talks about how to deal with students who resist his attempts to connect, what it looks like when he has to reprimand a student, the research that shows the connection between teacher-student relationship and learning, and how people who aren't naturally extroverted can still build strong relationships with their students.

You can listen to the interview using the player above. A full transcript is also available if you aren't able to listen, but James is a pretty entertaining guy to listen to, so it's worth the time if you can make it happen.

James Sturtevant teaches social studies at Big Walnut High School in Sunbury, Ohio. You can find him at his website (his latest post is on reverse engineering your connection with students) or on Twitter at @jamessturtevant.

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Are You Really Connecting with Your Students?

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James Sturtevant's book, You've Gotta Connect, is full of practical, actionable advice and tools to strengthen the quality of your connection with students.

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Building a Positive Learning Environment

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Building a Positive Learning Environment

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Step 1 - Make learning relevant

Step 2 - Develop a Code of Conduct

Step 3 - Employ a Positive Actions Curriculum

Step 4 - Help Students Develop Intrinsic Motivation

Step 5 - Reinforce Positive Behaviors

Step 6 - Always Respond With Positivity

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by Becton Loveless

Positive, productive learning environments are key to students' academic, emotional and social success in school. Unfortunately, positive learning environments don't just happen on their own-they must be created. There are many components that go into making a positive learning environment for students. For starters, positive learning environments should offer a climate of safety, where risk-taking is encouraged, there is open authentic conversation, trust and respect are fostered, and positive interaction is the norm.

The best time to start developing a positive learning environment in your classroom is during the first days, weeks, and months of the school year-but it's never too late to get started. Below, we'll explore positive action strategy, and several simple tips, that teachers, educators, and even parents, can use for creating a positive, productive learning environment for students. By implementing these strategies, you'll be able combine the need for positive learning environments that foster improved academic performance, with the ability to promote students' social and emotional wellbeing and progress inside and outside the classroom.

Step 1 - Make learning relevant

The more relevant a topic or subject is to students' own success and happiness, the more engaged they'll become in the learning process. On the whole, when teaching math, science, social studies, even history, find ways to adapt the lesson or lecture to the interests of students. It's also helpful to discover the interests, talents, and learning styles of each student if possible. As resources permit, adjust teaching methods and strategies to meet the needs of students on an individual basis and you'll see students become more attentive and engaged.

Step 2 - Develop a Code of Conduct

If students don't have a clear and agreed upon understanding of positive and negative behaviors, it's difficult to create a positive learning environment in the classroom and at school. The first step to establishing a code of conduct is to ask students how they like being treated. From this question students should be able to brainstorm a list of behaviors they believe are respectful, kind, fair, and appropriate. At this point, together students and teachers should be able to agree that treating others the way we each want to be treated is the best code of conduct, and should set the stage for appropriate classroom behaviors.

Step 3 - Employ a Positive Actions Curriculum

While it would be nice if all students shared the same understanding of positive behaviors, they don't. Children come from diverse family, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. All these influences, and others, shape students' perspective of what's appropriate, and what is not. It's important that students are taught positive behaviors in a consistent and systematic way at school and in the classroom. Developing a Positive Action curriculum is one of the most effective ways to teach and instill in students positive behaviors. Positive action curriculum should teach students:

That positive actions lead to a good feeling and positive self image.

Positive actions such as nutrition, property exercise, and sleep that lead to a healthy body.

Positive actions such as problem-solving, decision-making and thinking skills develop the brain and make us smarter.

Positive actions such as kindness, living the Golden Rule, and being respectful allow us get along with others.

Positive actions such as time management and managing our emotions help us better manage our own affairs.

Positive actions such as admitting mistakes and taking responsibility for our actions allow us to be honest with others and ourselves.

Positive actions such as goal setting lead to personal growth and improvement.

Positive actions lead to positive behaviors, which help children feel good about themselves and others.

Step 4 - Help Students Develop Intrinsic Motivation

Feeling good about themselves is an intrinsic motivator to students-especially elementary age students-and positive actions help children feel good about themselves. So, how do you help students consistently engage in positive actions? First, actions are always preceded by thoughts. Second, actions and behaviors are typically consistent with thoughts. Third, feelings, children experience about themselves, are based in large part by their actions. Helping students learn that by changing a negative thought to a positive they can produce positive actions, and that positive actions will help them feel good about themselves is a powerful intrinsic motivator.

Step 5 - Reinforce Positive Behaviors

Recognizing and reinforcing positive behaviors is one of the most effective ways to produce positive actions in students, strengthen intrinsic motivation, and create a productive and positive learning environment. Certificates, stickers, toy prizes, tickets, tokens and other reward systems are great ways to recognize students and reinforce positive behavior and achievement in the classroom. However, it's also important to help students make the connection between positive behavior and the good feeling it produces (not just the physical award). As students make that connection between positive behavior and good feelings, and continue producing positive actions, they'll feel good about themselves, the intrinsic motivation is strengthened, and students will continue producing more positive actions and exhibiting positive behaviors.

Step 6 - Always Respond With Positivity

Positivity is a key component of a positive learning environment. Interacting with students in a positive manner, exhibiting positive behaviors, and maintaining a positive attitude is one of the most important steps for creating a positive learning environment and producing successful students. Regardless of the situation or circumstance, there is always a way to respond to and interact with students in a positive way. Teaching students how to communicate and interact with each other in a positive manner is also key to fostering a positive learning environment in the classroom. Positivity is one of the most powerful agents of change for establishing and maintaining a positive learning environment at school and in the classroom.

Simple Tips and Strategies for Building Positive Learning Environments

The Positive Action strategy we introduced above is one of the few character education programs recognized by the U.S. Department of Education's What Works Clearinghouse to produce positive results in students' academic performance and behavior. But it isn't the only strategy. Below is an additional list of simple strategies and tips from teachers, educators, and even parents, that have proven useful and effective for creating a positive, productive learning environment at school and in the classroom.

Relationships first, school second. Don't jump straight into school work the first day of school. Break the ice and help get students out of their comfort zone at the onset by playing some interactive games and holding some team building exercises. This helps students get to know each other on a personal level, and experience the "human" side of their teacher.

Share some stories from the summer. Before you transition into the school year have the students share some of the fun things they, or their families did over the summer. Also, take a moment to share with your students what you did over the summer. This helps the students get to know each other and their teacher, and helps you build rapport with your students.

Get to know each student. At the beginning of the new year, or term, ask parents to write a "in a million words or less" letter describing their child. Once you have received letters from all the parents, take some time to read each letter and learn about the unique character, desires, needs and talents of each child. Reading these letters at least once, if not regularly, will help you see each child in a different light.

Write an introduction letter. Get to know your students and let them get to know you through introduction letters. Write a letter telling your students about yourself, your likes, your hobbies, loves and aspirations. For their first assignment, have students write a letter about themselves for you.

Create an Internet Meme. Internet memes are a fun and effective way for communicating important expectations, rules and concepts with students without coming off mean or overbearing. They can include media, catch phrases, jokes and funny images.

Lean on Your Colleagues. Being a good teacher and creating a positive learning environment takes a lot of work-so don't go at it alone. Reach out to other teachers, educators and people who will support you, build you up and who have been successful at creating positive learning environments.

Plan for the Future, Live in the Moment. As you work toward creating a positive learning environment for your students, stay focused on the present. Creating a positive working environment is a process, it won't happen overnight. Don't get so caught up with the end goal that you are not able to savor the moment.

Get Students Involved in the Process. Creating a positive learning environment should involve all your students. Have students help decide how to design the room, where pictures should go, what pictures should be used, etc. Allow them to take ownership of their learning environment.

Create a Creative Bookmark. Create a laminated bookmark with your contact information on it. This is a fun way to invite your students to stay in touch with you. Include your email address, school web page URL or any other info you want students to have at their fingertips.

Create a Classroom Newsletter. Having your class develop a newsletter is a great way to keep students engaged, entertained and parents involved. But don't you do it! Have your students do it. Make your newsletter a student driven project and you'll engender a positive classroom learning environment.

Connect Using Social Media. Social media can be a great way for teachers to connect with students-especially given the propensity that kids have these days to access social media. Take pictures of class projects, awards, activities and events and post them on instagram for kids and parents to enjoy. Or maybe you can set up a class twitter account to keep students and parents up to date on what's going on in the classroom throughout the year.

Create a Blog. Create and maintain a classroom blog. This is another great way to keep students and teachers up to date and involved in what's going on in the classroom. It's also a great place to post upcoming projects, guidelines, study guides and resources for students and parents.

Keep it Green. Use digital technology to decrease reliance on paper products and to facilitate online communication between teachers and students, and their parents. Much of what was traditionally communicated using paper can now be communicated digitally online using Twitter, Facebook, or a class web page. Going digital saves time, is more effective than paper (which can be lost), foster a positive learning environment, and protects our world's environment.

Start with Relationships. As tempting as it is to get a headstart on academics, keep the focus of the first day of school on establishing relationships and building a sense of community within your classroom. Let each student know that the most important part of their education is them. Do some team building activities. Show students that they are valued for their contribution. There will be plenty of time to focus on academics tomorrow.

Be Enthusiastic. Be enthusiastic! Smile! Let your students know that you're excited to be there and that you're excited they're there. Everything you say or do the first week of school should communicate your enthusiasm for the new school year. Your positive attitude and enthusiasm is key to creating, and maintaining, a positive learning environment in the classroom.

Stay Optimistic. After the enthusiasm of the first few weeks of school starts to wear off and you get down to the nitty gritty of dealing with the challenges of being a teacher, you must stay committed to maintaining a positive attitude and a high level of optimism throughout the year. Students will pick up on any negativity or bad moods immediately. Your ability to maintain a positive attitude, and stay optimistic, is at the core of your ability to establish a positive learning environment.

Treat Each Student As If They Were Your Own Child. Are you a parent? Have you experienced those struggles and fears that your own children have experienced as they've gone to school each day? Have you ever hoped or prayed their teacher would be sensitive to their needs and be understanding? Treat each of your students with the same love, respect and level of attention that you'd want for your own child. It takes work, but it will bring out the best in each child and foster a positive learning environment.

Focus on the Positive. There is something positive to be found in even the worst student. Each day find something good in each student and point it out to them. Focusing on the positive in every student will enable you to create and maintain a truly positive learning environment for your students. And more importantly, you'll help each student build esteem and self worth that will last a lifetime.

Sometimes... Just Wing It. Humans are unpredictable. Children are even more unpredictable. Now matter how well you planned over the summer, once your children arrive in the classroom, and you start getting to know them, you really can't make a concrete plan. Take a little time to get to know your students. After the first few days of school, you may need to re-evaluate your plan and go back to the drawing board to fix a few things. Have fun. It's okay.

Review the Basics. Academics are important, but if students know proper classroom etiquette it's difficult to have a successful learning environment. Don't assume that your students know anything-review the basics. During the first week of school review with your students how to ask for help, provide help to other students, work together, collaborate, be respectful, etc. Reviewing the basics sets the stage for a positive and productive learning environment in the classroom.

Reconnect at the Beginning of Each Year. Plan a school wide social event or activity to be held the week before school starts. This provides students, teachers, parents and faculty the opportunity to reconnect without the pressures of school. Keep the event low key and focused on socializing and getting to know one another.

Establish Positive Parent Relationships. The last thing you want to do is wait until there is an issue or problem with little Tommy before you attempt to establish a relationship with his parents. At the beginning of each year, reach out to the parents of each child in your class in a personal way. Introduce yourself, let them know who you are, that you're excited to start working with their child, and what your plans are for the year. Building a relationship with parents early on sets the stage for a positive learning environment with their child the rest of the year.

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Strategies for Building a Productive and Positive Learning Environment

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by Becton Loveless Positive, productive learning environments are key to students' academic, emotional and social success in school. Unfortunately, positive learning environments don't just happen on their own-they must be created. There are many components that go into making a positive learning environment for students.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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The beginning of the year is a time for creating a sense of community, and your room is the gathering place. Here, all children can feel secure, nurtured and supported by the environment, each other, and YOU. This new group of individuals bring with them divergent interests, abilities, cultures, and families. Each child arrives at your door with a fertile background of experience that enriches your program. By demonstrating your loving acceptance of all children's backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints, you create an environment that says, "All are welcome here." At the same time you are modeling just how you want children to be with one another. The goal is to celebrate individuals while creating a sense of community.

We know from recent studies that children who feel a sense of identity within a group are the most well-adjusted and successful in school. As children progress developmentally, their group interaction skills become more finely tuned as well. Children's "world view" expands to add a greater understanding of the relationship between self and other. Studies also tell us that some of the most important skills children need for school readiness and success are the "people skills" of social interaction, communication, collaboration, and problem solving. They are the fertile ground that supports the academics of learning ABCs and 123s! That is what you are doing in the first month of school - creating an emotionally secure "home base" for children to learn in. So don't worry if you are not teaching many specific academic skills in your first month. By focusing on establishing a safe, secure, and nurturing environment, you are teaching children how to learn and are setting the stage for the entire year.

How can you help a child feel secure in a new community? Let's look at a few elements that allow children to feel known and supported.

Building Community Through Identity
Your children need to see themselves reflected in the classroom. Invite families to send in photos of their children and family before school starts or in the first few weeks. Finding themselves "already there" will go a long way towards making children feel comfortable. Not only will children enjoy finding their photos around the room, but they will delight in learning about their new friends and their families. Children may want to make family books in the first few weeks of school as a way of getting to know each other.

Building Community Through Familiarity
Moving into a new class of children can be very challenging. Children need to find things that are familiar to them in the classroom. It can be something simple, such as puzzles and games they might have played with in a previous classroom. These might be materials that seem too "easy" for them, but in order to build a community, children need to build a sense of comfort - the time to be challenged comes later. And interestingly, children who have a sense of success with a particular educational material or game are more likely to share it with others and thus build community. Don't forget to use familiar and favorite songs and books at group time. Children will feel so proud when they can say, "I know that book!"

Building Community Through Warmth and Beauty
Studies have shown that warm colors and soft spaces are welcoming to children and create a secure and nurturing "nest" from which they can grow. Lots of pillows, soft toys, fresh flowers, soft clay or dough, and items for water play, create a homelike environment. These elements also foster a sense of community. A soft place to share a book with a friend, a small clay table for two, or a beautiful bouquet of flowers to examine together all can create "warm spots" for children to share with a new friend. But perhaps the warmest element of your classroom is you and your SMILE.

Building Community Through Trust
At this stage of development, in order to feel part of their classroom community, children need to feel the same sense of trust in school as they do at home. Your calm acceptance of children's feelings during the transition from home to school goes a long way towards letting children know that it is safe to express their feelings and building their sense of trust in you. Reassure children by making eye contact, listening to what they need to say, and acknowledging their thoughts and feelings. Don't expect children to make friends right away. Children may need to engage in parallel play before they are ready to share and communicate with another child.

Building Community Through Predictability
Predictability is another important part of building an environment of trust and safety. Establishing predictable routines helps children know what to expect and helps them feel confident and capable in the group. Keep a regular schedule of activities throughout the day. If possible, take photographs of each section of the day and place them in a row at child eye level in a left to right sequence from the beginning of the day to the end. If children are wondering "what comes next" or "when do I go home," they can look at the sequence to see how many more activities are left for the day.

Building Community Through Family Involvement
Each child who walks through your door "comes" with a family. The family is a key ingredient to children feeling at home in your classroom. In some programs, you may only meet the families at special meetings or occasions. In others, you will have the pleasure of seeing them every day when they drop off and pick up their children. Make a point of connecting in a variety of ways, from phone calls to letters or notes sent home. If possible, learn their email addresses for instant family communication. They will appreciate your efforts and may reward you with active participation in your program. Invite family members to visit and share their culture, work, and interests. You will be expanding your classroom community to include the greater community of the town where your school resides.

Ultimately, the essential element to creating a sense of community in your classroom is YOU! It is not the number of toys and materials or the size of your space that really counts. It is your loving, compassionate attitude towards the children in your classroom family that creates a joyful community.

For more beginning of the school year activities, see Ellen Booth Church's book, Best-Ever Circle Time Activities: Back to School (Scholastic, Inc., 2003).

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Building Community in the Classroom | Scholastic

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The beginning of the year is a time for creating a sense of community, and your room is the gathering place. Here, all children can feel secure, nurtured and supported by the environment, each other, and YOU. This new group of individuals bring with them divergent interests, abilities, cultures, and families.

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Teachers are able to collaborate and give ideas to better the learning environment.

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Free K - 12 Lesson Plans from World-Class Teachers | BetterLesson

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Plan better lessons for your students in critical subjects such as geometry, literature, and earth and space science with free resouces from world-class teachers.

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"Working to Grow Student's Trust and Respect"

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"Working to Grow Student's Trust and Respect"

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H - Honor Students’ Time, Talents, and Interests
E - Engage Students on Their Level
A - Accept Student Differences
R - Radiate Eagerness to Teach Students
T - Telegraph That Learning Is Fun

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A five-step framework for cultivating the strong relationships with students that are critical for their learning.

When you reflect back, why were students quiet those first days, or even weeks, of school? Could it be that they were asking themselves, "Can I trust this teacher? Will I be respected in this class? Does this teacher want to get to know me?"

Respect and trust are foundational for learning. This is nothing new-we know it to be true. We also know that building trust is not a "one and done" kind of thing to be checked off at the beginning of the year. We need to work at it every day and maintain what we do gain.

I'd like to offer five tips for continuing to gain and develop students' trust and respect. The first letter from each tip creates the acrostic HEART-perhaps a helpful way to keep these tips on your mind:

H onor Students' Time, Talents, and Interests

E ngage Students on Their Level

A ccept Student Differences

R adiate Eagerness to Teach Students

T elegraph That Learning Is Fun

Teaching With HEART

Honor students' time, talents, and interests: Some of our students make tremendous efforts just to get to school each day. I had a student that had to ride three buses every day, and another who had to get her three siblings dressed, fed, and off to school before she could get herself ready for her school day.

Acknowledging and thanking our students for being there, being ready to learn, and bringing along all their talents is an important part of our daily classroom routine as teachers. We also want to continue to make sure we give students ample opportunities to share their interests and talents- and connect those to the learning as often as we can.

Engage students on their level: One thing I like to do while I prepare learning activities is to recall what it was like to be my students' age (high schoolers) and try to anticipate some potential responses. I then incorporate those into the design of the learning activities.

I also like to find ways to let students know who you I am: "I love to read, eat pizza, and watch old kung fu movies." Have the students choose the superhero they identify with the most, or their favorite cereal, flavor of ice cream, sports team, or musician, and jot down the answers next to their name in your grading book or teacher notebook. Throughout the year, I find ways to weave this tidbit of information about students into learning opportunities.

Accept student differences: Students are always watching us, deciding what kind of teacher we are, and taking in just how we respond to various situations and to students. When we warmly greet every student at the door with the same smile, we send a clear message that no matter what happened the day before, we're glad each child is there.

It's important also that we always randomize asking students questions, so they're all able to share their ideas and opinions-not just the ones that raise their hands. When we do this, students know not only that they need to be listening and prepared but that all voices in the room matter.

Radiate eagerness to teach students: Students pick up on nonverbal cues, and without even thinking they respond in like manner. Body language is powerful. Show your excitement and enthusiasm by rarely sitting down, by leaning forward, and by being expressive with your hands and face. I consciously walk energetically around the classroom.

Our voice also carries a strong message. When I introduce the daily lesson or a new unit, I use the same tone as when I'm talking about a wonderful experience to a friend. Tone is everything. New teachers, practice in a mirror or video yourself talking to make sure you're conveying that level of enthusiasm for an upcoming learning activity or lesson.

Telegraph that learning is fun: Students need to feel that they are making progress, doing important learning, and also enjoying themselves. They always need solid reasons behind what they are learning or about to learn. I strive to provide them each day with something they can take home and say, "I like this class because we learned ___!"

One example: In my Spanish classes, instead of talking about the alphabet or learning single words, right away we work on simple phrases that students can take home to share with their family, starting with "How are you?"- "¿Cómo estás?"- and three simple verbal responses with hand motions. This all takes just a few minutes to model, choral repeat, and practice. Students see learning as more enjoyable when they can walk out the classroom door and put to use what they just learned right away.

By striving to provide these five tactics, or HEART, in the classroom, I find learning (and teaching) to be more pleasurable and students to be more productive. When we bring HEART to the classroom, it's evident to students that they are valued, that their time with us matters, that we see them as individuals, incorporating their uniqueness into the learning activities. HEART demonstrates that we engage with them from our personal love of learning in a quest to inspire them to find their own meaning and purpose in the learning.

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Working to Grow Students' Trust and Respect | Edutopia

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A five-step framework for cultivating the strong relationships with students that are critical for their learning. When you reflect back, why were students quiet those first days, or even weeks, of school? Could it be that they were asking themselves, "Can I trust this teacher? Will I be respected in this class?

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Listen to this post as a podcast:
This post was originally contributed to Cathy Rubin's blog, The Global Search for Education, on the Huffington Post.
They are watching.
Every moment students spend in our rooms, amid the business of the day, the paper pushing and content coverage, amid the set-up and tear-down of projects, they hear everything we say. About ourselves. About the world. About them. They watch how we handle ourselves when we are pressed for time and when we receive gifts and when we screw things up.

So yes, deliver your curriculum. Yes, provide rich, hands-on, authentic learning experiences. Offer rigorous academic challenges. Raise the bar. Coach and guide. Nurture. Push. Advise.

But also be: To truly lead is to pay attention to who we are in the downtime, in the margins. To help them become the best people they are capable of becoming, we must first be those people.

We can do it in these ways:

1. Lead with imperfection.
Try things you're not good at, right in front of them. Demonstrate a spirit of experimentation. Speak of your mistakes without judgment.

2. Lead with assertiveness.
Show them how a self-assured person says no. Show what it looks like to set firm limits, without apology and without hostility.

3. Lead with relationships.
Let them hear you laugh with other teachers, prioritize loved ones, and speak respectfully of your significant other. Let them see what healthy relationships look like.

4. Lead with language.
Use the right words to describe concepts. Avoid dumbing things down. Savor a good word when it presents itself.

5. Lead with self-control.
When a student makes you angry, think of how you tell students to handle their own anger. Then do that.

6. Lead with manners.
Say please and thank you. Avoid cutting people off mid-sentence. Have sensitive conversations in private. Respect other people's time.

7. Lead with quality.
Take a few extra minutes to get something right. Do what you say you're going to do. Proofread.

8. Lead with humor.
Laugh. Be silly. Don't take yourself too seriously. Avoid mocking or ridiculing your students. Mock yourself instead.

9. Lead with enthusiasm.
Share your obsessions. Geek out on the things students think are uncool. Show them that it's possible to fall in love with a forest, a perfect pizza crust, the moment when a song changes key.

10. Lead with humility.
When you don't know something, say so. Allow for the possibility that you might occasionally be wrong. Check your ego. Apologize.

To stand before children-share physical space with them day after day-is a rare privilege. In every minute we spend together, they will learn something. Whatever it is we put before them, they will learn from it.

Let's make it good. ♥

There's plenty more where this came from.
Join my mailing list and get weekly tips, tools, and inspiration-in quick, bite-sized packages-all geared toward making your teaching more effective and fun. To thank you, I'll send you a free copy of my e-booklet, 20 Ways to Cut Your Grading Time in Half. See you over there!

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Lessons in Personhood: 10 Ways to Truly Lead in Your Classroom

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Listen to this post as a podcast: This post was originally contributed to Cathy Rubin's blog, The Global Search for Education , on the Huffington Post. They are watching. Every moment students spend in our rooms, amid the business of the day, the paper pushing and content coverage, amid the set-up and tear-down of projects, they hear everything we say.

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Having mutual respect on both parts will help the community of the school to be positive and responsible.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept11/vol69/num01/Creating-a-Climate-of-Respect.aspx

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Being a great leader by prioritizing the relationships within your school helps to create a culture that uplifts and supports each other

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Being a great leader by prioritizing the relationships within your school helps to create a culture that uplifts and supports each other

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10 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Learning That Teachers, Students, and Parents Love

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Caring School Community is a CASEL SELect, research-based, social and emotional learning program for grades K-8.

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March 2003 | Volume 60 | Number 6
Creating Caring Schools Pages 31-33

Eric Schaps

Imagine that you are a student entering a new school for the first time. Picture the scene. What would be on your mind? You might be wondering, "Will I make friends here? Will I be popular?" Or, "Will my teachers like me? Will they care about me?" Or, "Will I be able to do the work here? Will I be smart enough?" Or, in all too many cases, "Will I be safe here? Will I be teased, shunned, humiliated?" or even "Will I be ripped off or beaten up?"

These questions reveal our basic psychological needs-for emotional and physical safety; for close, supportive relationships-a sense of "connectedness" (Resnick et al., 1997) or "belongingness" (Baumeister & Leary, 1995); for autonomy, or a say in what happens to us; and for a sense of competence-a belief that we are capable people and able to learn. These fundamental needs shape human motivation and have major implications for learning and development. We are willing to work very hard to preserve our sense of safety, belonging, autonomy, and competence (Deci & Ryan, l985).

We also bond with the people and institutions that help us satisfy our needs (Watson, Battistich, & Solomon, 1997), which makes the creation of caring, inclusive, participatory communities for our students especially important. When a school meets students' basic psychological needs, students become increasingly committed to the school's norms, values, and goals. And by enlisting students in maintaining that sense of community, the school provides opportunities for students to learn skills and develop habits that will benefit them throughout their lives.

A growing body of research confirms the benefits of building a sense of community in school. Students in schools with a strong sense of community are more likely to be academically motivated (Solomon, Battistich, Watson, Schaps, & Lewis, 2000); to act ethically and altruistically (Schaps, Battistich, & Solomon, 1997); to develop social and emotional competencies (Solomon et al., 2000); and to avoid a number of problem behaviors, including drug use and violence (Resnick et al., 1997).

These benefits are often lasting. Researchers have found that the positive effects of certain community-building programs for elementary schools persist through middle and high school. During middle school, for example, students from elementary schools that had implemented the Developmental Studies Center's Child Development Project-a program that emphasizes community building-were found to outperform middle school students from comparison elementary schools on academic outcomes (higher grade-point averages and achievement test scores), teacher ratings of behavior (better academic engagement, respectful behavior, and social skills), and self-reported misbehavior (less misconduct in school and fewer delinquent acts) (Battistich, 2001). A study that assessed the enduring effects of the Seattle Social Development Project-another elementary school program-on former participants at age 18 found lower rates of violent behavior, heavy drinking, and sexual activity, as well as higher academic motivation and achievement, for program participants relative to comparison group students (Hawkins, Catalano, Kosterman, Abbot, & Hill, 1999).

Schools can readily assess the degree to which students experience community in school by asking students how much they agree or disagree with such statements as

My class is like a family.

Students in my class help one another learn.

I believe that I can talk to the teachers in this school about things that are bothering me.

Students in my class can get a rule changed if they think that it is unfair.

An annual survey of this sort can help assess a school's overall effectiveness and how well specific community- building efforts are working.

Unfortunately, schools with a strong sense of community are fairly rare. In fact, most schools that survey students' perceptions of community wind up with mediocre mean scores. Of further concern is the fact that low-income students and students of color usually report a lower level of community in school than do affluent or white students. Many schools appear to be ill-equipped to provide community for the students who may need it most (Battistich, Solomon, Kim, Watson, & Schaps, 1995).

Community-Building Approaches

Fortunately, research also suggests that schools can strengthen students' sense of community by adopting feasible, commonsense approaches. Four approaches are particularly beneficial.

Actively cultivate respectful, supportive relationships among students, teachers, and parents. Supportive relationships are the heart of community. They enable students from diverse backgrounds to bring their personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences into the classroom. Supportive relationships help parents, especially those who would otherwise feel vulnerable or uncomfortable, take active roles in the school and in their children's education.

Emphasize common purposes and ideals. Along with academic achievement, schools with a strong sense of community stress the development of qualities essential to good character and citizenship, such as fairness, concern for others, and personal responsibility. Everyone shares an understanding of the school's values, which then shape daily interactions.

Provide regular opportunities for service and cooperation. Students learn the skills of collaboration, develop wider and richer relationships, and experience the many satisfactions of contributing to the welfare of others.

Provide developmentally appropriate opportunities for autonomy and influence. Having a say in establishing the agenda and climate for the classroom is intrinsically satisfying and helps prepare students for the complexities of citizenship in a democracy.

Several leading program developers have focused on using one or more of these approaches to build community. The more prominent programs include James Comer's School Development Program ( http://info.med.yale.edu/comer/index.html), Eunice Shriver's Community of Caring program ( www.communityofcaring.org), the Northeast Foundation for Children's Responsive Classroom ( www.responsiveclassroom.org), David Hawkins's Seattle Social Development Project ( http://depts.washington.edu/ssdp), and the Developmental Studies Center's Child Development Project ( www.devstu.org). The Child Development Project, for example, focuses on the regular use of several key activities:

Class meetings are useful for setting goals and norms, planning activities, and identifying and solving problems. They are essential for building peer relationships and fostering shared goals in the classroom. Class meetings at the beginning of the year, for example, include a few "unity builders." Students may bring a favorite toy or memento and discuss it with a partner, who then presents it to the entire class. The class later may collaboratively establish goals for the year (such as "To make our room a safe place for everyone"), shared values (such as "To treat one another with respect"), or shared norms (such as "To make decisions by consensus whenever we can").

A buddies program pairs whole classes of older and younger students for academic and recreational activities. Every older student gets a younger buddy for the year. They get acquainted by interviewing each other, charting ways in which they are alike and different, and sharing their classroom portfolios. During the year, they may read or play math games together, visit museums, work together for a cause, or create a joint journal of their activities. At year's end, they show their mutual appreciation by exchanging thank you notes or gifts that they have made. Buddies programs help create powerful cross-age relationships, teach important social skills, and create a caring ethos in the school.

"Homeside" activities are short conversation activities for students and parents or other caregivers to do at home once or twice a month. These conversations, mostly interviews conducted by students with their parents, link school learning with home experiences and perspectives. For 4th grade state history units, for example, students interview their parents about how their family or ancestors first came to their state. Whether family members have lived in the state for 100 years or 100 days, the story of how and why they came to settle there is part of state history and serves to personalize learning for students.

Schoolwide community-building activities link students, parents, and teachers; help foster new school traditions; and promote helpfulness, inclusiveness, and responsibility. They can be as undemanding as Family Film Nights, invitations to the entire family to view a feature-length movie at school and perhaps discuss a question related to it within the family. Or the activities can be as challenging as creating a Family Heritage Museum, for which students and their caregivers prepare displays of information and artifacts that tell something about their family heritage. The school then features the displays for a week or two and organizes an evening event so that parents and children can view them together.

These activities help educators make significant changes in the norms, practices, routines, and policies that often prevail in a school's hidden curriculum. They provide tools for promoting all stakeholders' experience of community. Some of them-class meetings, especially-may involve new skills that teachers need to learn through additional staff development. Other activities require little or no additional training for implementation.

Make Community a Priority

U.S. policymakers are calling for schools to adopt "evidence-based programs," and we know now that the evidence for the importance of building caring school communities is clear and compelling. One promising development is the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools program's recent recognition of the importance of community building; its August 2002 national technical assistance meeting in Washington, D.C., gave community building center stage as an effective violence prevention strategy. Community building should become-at a minimum-a strong complement to the prevailing focus on academic achievement.

References

Battistich, V. (2001, April). Effects of an elementary school intervention on students' "connectedness" to school and social adjustment during middle school. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA.

Battistich, V., Solomon, D., Kim, D., Watson, M., & Schaps, E. (1995). Schools as communities, poverty levels of student populations, and students' attitudes, motives, and performance: A multilevel analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 627-658.

Baumeister, R., & Leary, M. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529.

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.

Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., Kosterman, R., Abbot, R., & Hill, K. G. (1999). Preventing adolescent health-risk behaviors by strengthening protection during childhood. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 153, 226-234.

Resnick, M. D., Bearman, P. S., Blum, R. W., Bauman, K. E., Harris, K. M., Jones, J., Tabor, J., Beuhring, T., Sieving, R. E., Shew, M., Ireland, M., Bearinger, L. H., & Udry, J. R. (1997). Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 823-832.

Schaps, E., Battistich, V., & Solomon, D. (1997). School as a caring community: A key to character education. In A. Molnar (Ed.), The construction of children's character, part II: 96th yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Solomon, D., Battistich, V., Watson, M., Schaps, E., & Lewis, C. (2000). A six-district study of educational change: Direct and mediated effects of the Child Development Project. Social Psychology of Education, 4, 3-51.

Watson, M., Battistich, V., & Solomon, D. (1997). Enhancing students' social and ethical development in schools: An intervention program and its effects. International Journal of Educational Research, 27, 571-586.

Eric Schaps is President of the Developmental Studies Center, 2000 Embarcadero, Ste. 305, Oakland, CA 94604; eric_schaps@devstu.org.

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March 2003 | Volume 60 | Number 6 Creating Caring Schools Pages 31-33 Eric Schaps Imagine that you are a student entering a new school for the first time. Picture the scene. What would be on your mind? You might be wondering, "Will I make friends here? Will I be popular?"

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Fennell: By creating a safe and supportive environment that facilitates students' being aware of consequences to make responsible decisions, enhance their skills and abilities, and widen their interests in order for them to act on their own behalf.
Edutopia: Can you share a little bit of your compelling personal story and your approach to empowerment?
Fennell: I was a very shy child. In eighth grade, I was asked to mentor a third grade student at our school. The time that we spent working on projects may have assisted him, but it truly helped me to open up and recognize some of my own strengths.

I began working with a bank in my junior year of college. They recognized my ability to connect well with people and advanced me quickly through their management training program. Eventually, I was trained to facilitate workshops to develop the skills of teambuilding, communication, goal setting, and problem solving. I spent six years at the bank and seven years as a director of operations for an international fast food chain where I saw many people who were unsuccessfully trying to figure out who they were, what they wanted, and how to get there.

The money that I was making was great, but I realized that there was something more that I could be doing. So I left corporate America to assist young people with the same skills I facilitated for bank employees.

I founded Empowerment Solutions in 2004. Our motto is, "Live into, not up to." We focus on building positive culture and climate, and creating communities of learning. More and more people and schools are beginning to understand what SEL, character education, and SECD is and why it is important. We assist communities to discover how to implement it in a sustainable way.
Edutopia: What are some examples of programs that you have developed?
Fennell: I have had worked with children from preschool through high school through a variety of programs I have created and facilitated. These include: in-school leadership development, after-school character education and empowerment sessions, peer leadership training, advisor/advisee leadership training, peer mentoring, and intra-district mentoring (high school students mentoring middle school students or middle school students mentoring elementary students).

Another program is called I CAN -- an acronym for Intergenerational Community Advancement Network -- that connects middle school students with mentors from four different age groups (high school students, college students, career/professional adults, and retired or second-career individuals).
Edutopia: Can you recommend something that teachers can do in their classrooms today to begin empowering their students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels?
Fennell: The key to empowering students begins with the lens through which we view the students that we teach. If we see our students as unique, resourceful, intelligent, imaginative, and able, we become more willing to promote student-centered learning by providing opportunities to use their gifts, talents, and abilities, and develop their voices that will allow them to flourish today and in the future. Ultimately, it is through the development of mutually beneficial relationships with empowered peers and adults that positive contributions derive.
Edutopia: Implicit in your point is the need to rebalance the educational process.
Fennell: The most powerful student/teacher relationships are mutually beneficial -- a place where we listen to each other, learn from one another, and grow together.

Putting It to Practice

I then asked Patrick to give me his Top 10 Youth Empowerment Actions, and he explained that since David Letterman has retired, he felt better about doing this. So here they are:

1. Incorporate SEL into the curriculum in all subjects and levels of instruction.

2. It may seem too simple to be true, but ask them what they need! After the blank stares and the "I don't knows" subside, they begin to recognize that they do have a voice and that it is valued. It is also important to teach them how to appropriately express thoughts, opinions, and feelings in a manner that is respectful of themselves and others.

3. Focus on engaging and facilitating discussions and activities as opposed to directing and dictating them.

4. Provide opportunities to incorporate student choice into lessons, based on their interests, to promote discovery, critical thinking, and a true sense of being supported.

5. Give groups of three the responsibility and ownership of introducing new topics. Ask students to share what they know about a new topic before teaching it. Rotate the groups regularly.

6. Encourage and reward "being" in addition to "doing." Help youth focus on who they are on the inside.

7. Create projects that use varied gifts, talents, abilities, and perspectives to contribute to the whole.

8. Model an environment of respect (for others' thoughts, opinions, and values) and one that is fun and enthusiastic.

9. Get low. When a student is struggling with their work, physically position yourself at eye level as opposed to standing over them.

10. Don't be afraid to ask hard questions or admit that you don't know. Allow students' needs to outweigh our fears.

There are many valuable "do nows" and "do always" from Patrick's work that you can check out on the website for Empowerment Solutions. Please continue the conversation about youth empowerment and voice in the comments section below.

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Empowering Youth Voice Through SEL | Edutopia

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Fennell: By creating a safe and supportive environment that facilitates students' being aware of consequences to make responsible decisions, enhance their skills and abilities, and widen their interests in order for them to act on their own behalf. Edutopia: Can you share a little bit of your compelling personal story and your approach to empowerment?

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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Am I contributing in a helpful or harmful way? 

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Am I contributing in a helpful or harmful way? 

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This THINK acronym and infographic helps us communicate more kindly with others. Originally the THINK acronym was created to help reduce online bullying (to be used before posting something on Social Media), but it's actually useful for all our communications...

Where Could You Enrich Your Communications with the THINK Acronym?

To deepen your learning, ponder the questions below:

How could the THINK Acronym help your clients? How could you use this THINK acronym in workshops or groups?

Where could THINK help you in your relationships (work, home, socially)?

Where could you post this THINK infographic to reduce online (or other) bullying? Who else could find this acronym helpful?

Finally, if you liked this THINK Acronym Infographic on Kindness and Communication, you may also like:

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THINK Acronym for Kinder and More Effective Communications (Infographic) - The Launchpad - The Coaching Tools Company Blog

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This THINK acronym and infographic helps us communicate more kindly with others. Originally the THINK acronym was created to help reduce online bullying (to be used before posting something on Social Media), but it's actually useful for all our communications... How could the THINK Acronym help your clients?