Classroom Culture: Nurturing Inclusive spaces

Classroom culture is crucial for any school. A positive classroom culture, while nurturing inclusive spaces, will help build a sense of belonging among students, place trust in their teacher, make them feel connected, valuing their presence in the classroom. It makes students feel important when their voices are heard and respected. This environment helps in peer learning and their academic performance. Teachers should always create a safe space where students feel comfortable expressing themselves by aligning students’ behaviours and attitude with a set of dos and don’ts in the classroom.

Creating a Classroom Culture

A classroom’s culture should be co-created keeping students in mind to reflect the values, needs and aspirations of every child in the class. Several elements are necessary to be incorporated to foster a strong culture of learning and growth:

Student Involvement and Teacher’s Guidance providing framework for discussions in classrooms. Feedback Mechanism which helps to refine and adjust the culture as needed. Collaboration which provides teamwork and cooperative learning to build relationships. Growth Mind-Set learning from mistakes and perseverance. Celebrating Achievements by rewarding them with a chocolate, card or an applause to make students feel appreciated.

These methods are not only conducive to learning but also supportive of students’ social and emotional development.

Global Issues between the Four Walls

Global issues have a huge impact on children through social media, causing a stir in classrooms. Dwindling attention spans in students portray a challenge to engage them during lessons. Teachers today needs to be very versatile to hold the attention of their wards and bring to light several burning issues in a way suitable to young minds.

Various materials from interactive panels need to be employed like YouTube knowledge videos but technology should be used judiciously. Foster open dialogues and allow students to participate and express their thoughts and feelings. Educate them in the history and geography of the world. Discuss current events and the impact that it is having on their lives. Generative AI helps in learning but teaches students to build stronger brain muscles so that they can navigate difficulties in future. Make group projects fun to promote understanding. Storytelling and personal narratives get their attention. 

Discuss the latest books and employ DEAR - Drop Everything and Read - so that the whole class reads.

Classrooms as Safe Spaces

Classrooms can be turned into safe spaces by setting clear and respectful guidelines for interactions among students. Anti-bullying policies must be strongly employed in schools. Encourage students to express themselves, and share their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment.

The physical structure of a classroom should be comfortable with spacious seating for students. Display charts and materials to reflect diverse backgrounds should acquire space as well. Teachers need to make an effort to connect with every student individually, showing genuine interest in their lives and experiences.

Teachers should be able to provide emotional support, and regular check in with students about their well-being and emotional state. Teachers should not wait but should respond to issues promptly, helping students learn conflict resolution skills. Win the trust of students and remember, children will work harder for you, if they trust you and feel loved.

These strategies should help educators turn their classrooms into space spaces.

Nurturing Student Identities

Nurturing student identities is hard for any teacher due to a lot of social influences that are taking over young minds. The best way is to play with their influence as the saying goes ‘if you cannot beat them join them’. Appreciate responsible social media influencers whom your students follow; you will come across as cool to a classroom.  Try to get into their minds once the trust sets in; engaging with them becomes easier. They will pour out their thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Allow them to be drivers in the class, let them choose projects which interest them making learning more relevant. Use group work to help students learn from each other’s experiences and build relationships. Support their personal and academic growth.

Balancing Perspectives

Balancing between rights, wrongs and perspectives is an art. Once a student asked us to talk about so much good in this world but I see a lot of corrupt people. I drew a line in the middle of the black board and told the class that once they completed their professional education, they stand between crossroads; the right side is all the good they can do in the world and the left side is all the bad they can create in the world. There is something known as a free will given to every human being but the choice is theirs.

Use a lot of stories and anecdotes that allow them to see the right from the wrong to build perspectives.

Classroom Stories

At the end of the day or every school term, let the teacher analyse what milestones they want to achieve for the next day or the next yearr; growth and learning, celebrated diversity, shared experiences and stories to tell, acknowledging and celebrating success, giving “a shoulder to cry”, and support and empathy to the students with comfort and encouragement. A feeling of satisfaction washes over them when they realise that they tried to be a good teacher at every level.