Below are 4 article summaries that I think are helpful in teachers setting the right classroom atmosphere in the first days of school. (FYI, the article title is the link to the full article.)
Empathy starts with putting yourself in someone else's shoes -- a
key step in understanding perspectives that differ from your own. This isn't
just a nice thing to do; it's an essential, active skill. It's foundational to
embracing differences, building relationships, gaining a global perspective,
conducting richer and deeper analysis, and communicating more effectively. This
skill is about as "21st century" as it gets.
Scientific research is starting to show that there is a very
strong relationship between social-emotional learning and cognitive development
and performance.
Children as young as 18 months exhibit compassion, empathy,
altruism, so these characteristics are part of who we are.
But, at the same time, these skills have to be cultivated, because
the environment can inhibit their development. In other words, empathy, like a
physical muscle, is present -- but to manifest itself, it must be exercised.
Below is a road map for navigating a course to empathy -- suitable
for any age. You might also consider it a three-step fitness plan to build the
empathy muscle.
Step 1. Prepare
Create the conditions in which empathy can thrive.
- Create
a Safe Space: A trust-based environment is core to unlocking empathy.
- Lead
by Example: Consider what empathy looks like in your interactions, and
model this.
- Develop
Emotional Competency: Understand and manage your own emotions in order to
identify and interpret these emotions in others.
Step 2. Engage
Take action that suits your personality and interests. There is no
fixed course of engagement, but here are a few key activities.
- Group
Play: Empathy begins on the playground, where imagination is allowed to
run free, where kids learn to solve their own conflicts and enforce their
own rules.
- Storytelling:
Stories challenge our preconceptions, enabling us to wear the shoes of
those whose experiences are different from our own.
- Immersion:
By immersing ourselves in others' experiences, we learn to look beyond
labels and stereotypes, and shift from projection to deep understanding.
- Problem
Solving: The act of collaboration builds empathy through shared challenges
and victories.
Step 3. Reflect & Act
Action and reflection complete the circle, and form a vital
distinction between "teaching to the test" versus internalizing
knowledge and making a difference with that learning.
- Identify
Shared Values and Differences: As the Start Empathy road map explains,
"Empathy means recognizing the shared humanity in others but also
naming and appreciating differences. This is how we move from projection,
where we imagine what we would do in someone else's shoes, to empathy,
where we understand and respect the decisions of another."
- Instill
Courage: Go beyond praising the right behaviors -- proactively counteract
the forces that stand in their way. This is where standing up, not just
standing by, comes in.
- Enable
Action: Finally, create opportunities through which kids can put empathy
into action and exercise pro-social behavior intended to benefit others.
This plan is summarized on a poster.
Also a link
to a YouTube Video.
I have always found the topic of school
culture to be a rather fascinating subject relative to meeting the goal of high
academic performance. Ideally, we all want to function within a school that has a culture conducive to high academic performance.
After all, a positive school culture is a prerequisite to high academic performance.
When the school’s culture is conducive to high academic performance, the probability for student success in that school increases exponentially.
On the other hand, when the school’s culture is subpar or even toxic, the probability for student success diminishes exponentially.
School culture must therefore be given maximum attention by all stakeholders as the school strives for success.
What does “school culture” mean?
School culture is simply the “lifestyle” of the school. It’s the way things are done at the school.
It’s the way that everyone’s “living” at the school. It’s the way of life of the school.
As it relates to student performance, the lifestyle of the school matters. How the people in the school—both students and staff—are living while in the building matters. If academic excellence is the standard that the school is seeking, it must have the ability to function within a culture of excellence.
Often, people within and outside of education ask me what I consider to be the most important variable to school success. My answer jumps off of my tongue easily—“School climate and culture!”
The school’s climate is simply the “mood” of the school while the school’s culture is the “lifestyle” of the school as stated above.
Within the school’s culture are a myriad of variables that range from the start of the school day all the way to dismissal and beyond.
The beginning of the day is of paramount importance relative to the culture of the school.
The beginning of the school day means morning greetings or the way we greet one another.
I have been to a tremendous number of schools where morning greetings just didn’t exist.
Students and staff simply walked into the school and proceeded to their first stops. This translated into a very “cold” learning environment.
On the other hand, in schools where morning greetings do exist, these gestures help cultivate a very warm and even familial learning environment. The morning greetings become the standard for how the school day begins.
Bonds are created within the school, reducing feelings of tension, hostility, and isolation.
The intentionality behind the morning greetings occurring in the school is also important. It must be intentional. It is intentional across the entire building, where everyone strives to say good morning to one another.
Schools that have intentional morning greetings are much warmer and consequently in a better position to develop an overall culture of excellence than schools where morning greetings do not exist.
Morning greetings are the foundation and the springboard for all of the other variables of school culture.
In other words, if the school is serious about creating a culture of excellence, then the intentionality of how the day starts matters!
-------
Share the pain: Encouraging
discussion about what students in your class find difficult and what they are
struggling with can be really helpful for students. It helps students realize
that we can all be challenged, no matter our starting point. As the teacher, we
need to let students struggle. Don’t always offer the solution, this way
students will realize they are capable of doing it for themselves, through
perseverance, reflection and effort.
Question the effort: Questioning
serves a pivotal role in nurturing a growth mindset. How could this be even
better? What do you need to work hard at to improve on this? Is it time to
adopt a different approach or do you need to just keep going? Are you putting
in enough effort for you to make major improvements this time? Go and have a
look at X’s work. Getting the right answers is part of the battle; the other is
insisting that students respond to what they know about how to improve.
Make it difficult: What
about those students who are producing great work without struggle? Is this
because they are working exceptionally hard or is the work too easy? As designers
of learning, we must ensure that everyone struggles. Without making mistakes,
we don’t learn. Without a real sense of challenge, the idea that you can grow
as a learner is a fallacy. As teachers, we need to help make those challenges
explicit for every learner. Students cannot hide away from the things they
always find a challenge.
Make a big deal about effort:
This starts with us posing the challenges, talking about the qualities required
for excellence. “I know this is going to be exceptionally difficult”, “It’s
going to take a lot of effort”. When those challenges are complete, we need to
give space in our lessons to reflect and celebrate on the effort it has taken
to get there.
Acknowledge the effort: Make
a big deal of those who are putting in the effort. Those who are spending time
on their homework. Talk about their work ethic in the class, and what effect it
has on the quality of their work and understanding.
Demonstrate that work ethic yourself: Be
ready at the door, welcoming the students in for another challenging lesson.
Have their work marked when needed. Talk to students about their improvements
as they enter the door. Make sure you embody the work ethic you want to see in
your students.
Display a Growth Mindset: Make
your classroom a place where they can thrive as a learner. Have work of
exceptional standard for them to see on your walls. Have examples of great
learners in your subject. What did they do to get where they are now? How
passionate about their work did they have to be become great?
High expectations for every single
student: If you know about the Pygmalion effect,
then you know about the exceptional power we have as teachers to affect
students’ lives through our own expectations for them. Know every student can
work hard, can embrace challenge, can develop their understanding and can
continually improve.
Provide
elements of choice: Allow students opportunities for
students to have periods of autonomy and choice. This will lead to greater
persistence, productivity, well-being and ultimately better understanding
through finding their own path, learning for themselves.
A pivotal aspect of fostering mutual respect among
teachers, students and staff, which can transform a school culture, is adhering
to the following eight expectations:
We will value one another as unique and special individuals. We’re all unique, and our differences should be celebrated and
embraced. This is an especially important idea to instill in young students, as
their self-esteem and self-perception are in formative stages.
We will not laugh at or make fun of a person’s mistakes nor use
sarcasm or putdowns. In addition to feeling physically
safe at school, students have a right to share their idea and opinions without
fear of negativity. Emotional security is important to personal growth.
We will use good manners, saying “please,” “thank you” and “excuse
me,” and we will allow others to go first. This
might seem like an insignificant emphasis on politeness, but good manners are
foundational to selflessness and empathy. Leading by example with polite
behavior and respect for others will help instill those qualities among
students.
We will cheer each other to success. This emphasis on community and an “all boats shall rise” mentality
helps students support their peers and acknowledge the accomplishments of
others. We all do better when we all do better.
We will help one another whenever possible. Encouraging students to look out for their peers fills communities
with conscientious, helpful and generous citizens. Teamwork is a life skill
that serves students well far beyond the classroom.
We will recognize every effort and applaud it. Everyone experiences failure — times when our best effort didn’t
produce the desired outcome. While failure is disappointing, the effort of
trying to accomplish the goal is always worth recognizing.
We will encourage each other to do our best. To mitigate complacency and create a climate where excellence is
rewarded, help students set high standards for themselves and others. Educators
can model this behavior by maintaining high personal standards and supporting
other teachers in their work.
We will practice virtuous living. Recognize that how students treat each other as people is
foundational to a healthy life at school, at home and in the community. By
emphasizing empathy, good character and other important life principles,
educators create well-rounded and thoughtful students.
These basic tenets change hearts, instill
hope and create learning environments filled with mutual respect.
