Creating Community in the Classroom
A classroom is like another family. When a group spends over six hours a day together five days a week, that group becomes a community of its own. There is a special bond between students, teachers, and classmates. However, it is the responsibility of the teacher to unite the group. He/she can achieve this as the teachers did in Walking Trees. When the children were given writing assignments, teachers gave their students the opportunity to write about anything they preferred. The children shared personal life experiences which brought the group even closer together. Although each child had their own individual story, their experiences, whether similar or not, united the class as a whole. It allowed for the children to express themselves freely and ask questions. In addition, this exercise can offer many opportunities to create an open dialogue in the classroom about diversity. Students may write about traditions that are particular to their culture and in sharing the differences creates acceptance and tolerance of children, or individuals in general, who are from a different ethnic background than their own.
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2 comments:
I agree that it is very important for all children in your classroom to be able to express themselves. Writing is a great way of doing this. In walking tress reading all of the different stories the children wrote is a way for the teacher and other students in the class to get to know that child. When you are spending alot of you days in the classroom it is important for the children to feel comfortable and be able to express themselves. For about 30 hours a week the classroom becomes home.
I agree with many of the points you made to your post. I look at it like this. You, as a teacher going to your first day of school and looking at a bunch of faces right in front of you that you really don't really know anything about. You do know that you will get to know each and every one of your students as individual learners. As time goes on you will eventually develop a relationship with each and everyone. As a teacher you may ask yourself how can I get to know my students quicker? I just think that giving students the opportunity to write about anything they want on day one helps build a strong community right away.
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