Safety and Respect for Productive Learning

I believe the key to creating a productive learning environment is for students to feel safe and respected. Without these two things I feel that it would be impossible for students to learn effectively. When I use the word safety I am not solely referencing personal safety although this is of utmost important. I am also referring to social and emotional safety as well. The student must feel comfortable that they can express themselves and be listened to. This means that the teacher is responsible for fostering an environment that uses respect as its foundation. The teacher can do this by incorporating several classroom management techniques. The first is building relationships with students. This can be done if the teacher treats each student as the individuals that they are. For instance, the teacher should be knowledgeable about happenings in the school and the extracurricular activities that his/her students are participating in. They can celebrate any accomplishments that the students have made inside and outside the classroom. I also believe providing an arena to highlight talents and skills such as a gallery or newsletter are very good methods of increasing morale. Next teachers should have clear rules and techniques that outline an environment of respect. If students understand that respect is the community climate and abide by this they should feel safe and be able to be productive learners.