A few days ago I witnessed a brawl among several students. I was impressed with the manner in which it was addressed by other peers who got involved in separating the parties. This was true citizenship! How can we create safe havens for our children?
One would have thought that schools would be immune from violence. However, this is not the case! Over the years we have heard of school shootings, mass massacre, and kidnappings. Why is the school no longer safe? How does this impact teaching and learning? Can learning take place in environments that are unsafe?
According to Maslow, the need for safety is imperative before self actualization can be achieved. This then require schools to pay close attention in creating an environment that is conducive to learning. The school has become a microcosm of society. As a result the schools will have to come up with novel ways to ensure that students feel safe. In some schools this is elusive. Is it then dependent on the adults in the schools to ensure that a safe haven is created?
The task becomes even more overwhelming in our inner city schools. Some schools have shown that the establishment of strong relationships with the community, parents, and students will impact safety. While in others safety is an issue and can be strongly correlated to the climate and adults' expectations of students in the building. Can this be the answer? If expectations are changed......can a safe haven be created?
What are your thoughts?
Petreno
A few weeks ago I was privy to a conversation among a group of students discussing the value of their current educational experience. The essence of their discussion was that they are essentially doing whatever it takes to pass their classes so that they can graduate. I could not help but to think that these students were in "survival mode". They further admitted that they do not remember what they have done in most classes.
Though I can identify with these students I can vividly remember some of the fun times I had in some of my classes and the indelible learning experiences that I shared with my peers. Looking back, I now realize that these lessons were ones in which I could relate to my everyday reality involving various "hands-on" as well as "minds-on" activities. These lessons were taught with a passion by creative teachers who never failed to piqued your imagination or stretched you to your mental limits. They were always "setting us up for success". As a result there was a thirst for more knowledge. On the other hand, there were those classes that you dreaded and time just seemed to drag. These were of course the least intellectually stimulating!
I know it is a struggle in today's classroom to accommodate all the given dictates that at times squeezes the joy out of learning but how can we bring the "wow" factor back.... not only for the students but ourselves? What can we do to show students that learning is fun? Most importantly, will we be able to develop and sustain independent, critical thinking lifelong learners?
Or will we be constantly plagued with questions similar to this parent as a result of student apathy?
The task is not an easy one but I believe one in which we can begin to change one student at a time by getting to know them individually, not superficially through data but in simple ingenuous ways similar to #IWishMyTeacherKnew. The challenge will ultimately be in addressing students' needs.
As you prepare for the coming week let's think about how we can truly nurture learners for life.
