༄ Module 4 Unit 1 Activity 3: Establishing a Positive Classroom Climate

Compassion. Creating a positive relationship and showing students that you care.

I was happy to research the subject of creating a positive climate in the classroom in this unit because the importance of compassion came up a lot. Many articles I read agree that the key to deal with obstacles and differences, and the key to benefit each student as much as possible is the same: compassion. Compassion is required for creating a positive teacher-student relationships and therefore, to support learning. 

Nowadays, when most people are obsessed with technology and addicted to it, it was refreshing to find that current research and many people, educators included, are going back to basics and addressing the importance of cultivating human values such as compassion, love, equanimity, tolerance, an patience. Although making use of technology and taking advantage of the many ways it can be helpful in our lives is something we shouldn’t deny, but embrace, it’s far more important to cultivate this qualities of the heart.

As I mentioned in my video about developing positive relationships with students, showing students that you, the teacher, cares about them and about their well-being, helps them establish trust. If the student trusts the teacher, then they will trust your choices and your suggestions, and also the requests you make of them (Marshbank, A. 2017).

The teacher’s role is so important in the students’ lives, it is as important as knowing the subject one is teaching well. I’ve came across many teachers with PhD that are unable to teach, but teachers with just a BA or MA that are so inspiring and motivating that the enthusiasm for learning is contagious, they are patient and drive the students in a positive direction, encouraging learning. The teacher says a lot to the students with his or her behavior and it's so crucial that he sets a good example worthy of being emulated by behaving as a loving, caring, and empathetic teacher. 

All the suggestions and strategies I researched for cultivating positive relationships with the students and, as a consequence, creating a positive climate in the classroom, are rooted in kindness and compassion, genuine interest for the well-being and development of the student. Suggestions like smiling to the students, greeting them at the door, remembering their names and accurately pronouncing them, giving them attention, acknowledging their accomplishments and effort, etc., they all are expression of compassion and kindness.

I’ve been reflecting on what a wonderful opportunity and gift it would be to give students an environment where they can feel safe, relaxed, heard, and respected, where they can share their comments and points of view and know that they are being valued and never ridiculed or ignored. This can only lead to unlocking all their learning potential and lead them to become good human beings with strong values.

Diversity in the classroom 

Immigration’s impact is often first seen in the classroom, so it’s not uncommon to have classrooms that include diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. But also, it’s not uncommon to end up, as teachers, teaching abroad to different racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.

I’ve been living in India for 5 years now and I often travel to Nepal. These Countries are the ones where I intend to teach, so being able to positively manage and communicate with students of a background different from mine is very important.

During my first year living in India, I was studying Tibetan language in Dharmashala, Himachal Pradesh. It was very comforting when teachers made the effort to learn a word or two in Spanish, that would make me smile and give me some comfort. I found it easier to have conversations in Tibetan when the subject was interesting to me, it was naturally engaging and exciting. The teachers would always ask about my culture and I always made sure to ask what was acceptable in their culture as well. Using students' interests to our (the teacher) advantage came up also when I was researching about individualized instruction, and finding topics that the student finds interesting and relatable came up when I was researching how to create a positive environment in the classroom. This two factors coupled with patience, respect, tolerance, and kindness are, in my opinion, especially important while managing a diverse classroom. Teachers who take the time to do this will see increased participation, higher involvement, and an overall increase in learning. Students will appreciate the extra effort that the teacher has made to include their interest in the learning process. When addressing a diverse classroom, it’s also a good idea to use words and examples from the students' own culture and background, just like my Tibetan teachers did when I was studying, this will help the students relate to the example, activate their previous knowledge and create new knowledge. 

As I mentioned earlier, I feel that having diverse classrooms are a fantastic opportunity to learn human values such as respect, tolerance, kindness and patience. In fact, one of the things I love about India is how Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and Catholics can all live together in one city with no big altercations between them and harmony most of the times. I am from a very conservative city in Mexico, where approximately 95% of the population is catholic, so it’s refreshing and exciting to have the chance to expand my view and deal with diversity.

So one of my strategies when I start teaching in these Countries would be to learn the students’ interests and use them in class so they find that they can relate to what I’m saying. Another thing I would do is to find things that the students and I have in common, that will help them to relate to me more easily. By sharing personal anecdotes, the students will feel like they know me and it will also help to create trust.

Bullying

I have great memories from school, but also really bad, painful ones that scarred me. Some of those struggles become traumas if unable to deal with them, but some become strengths if they were dealt with in an effective way. I think bullying is a problem in every school, I was bullied, I saw others being bullied, I even was a bully in some unfortunate occasions. While doing research for Activity 2 in this module, I remembered how unfortunate this aspect of going to school is. There are some heartbreaking cases that end with even the death of the person being bullied. This fatalities can be prevented, this traumas can be prevented, it is possible to make the school a safe place for students by preventing and managing bullying, and it is equally possible to equip students with the necessary elements to deal with bullying in a positive and constructive way.

One important thing that came up while doing research, is that students should never be left alone while experiencing bullying, they need a support system where other students, teachers, school staff, and parents are involved. The school needs to make the anti-bullying policy and philosophy known to everybody from the very beginning, and since it's such a prevalent and potentially fatal problem, programs to create awareness among students, teachers and school staff, and parents are necessary. Bullying cannot be ignored. Students need to feel free to speak up when they experience or witness bullying and the teachers, school staff, parents and other students need to be ready to act accordingly.

While doing research for Activity 2, I came across a very good book that addresses bullying: "The Anti-Bullying Handbook" by Keith Sullivan. In this book, Sullivan proposes a way to deal with bullying that he calls the "feeling response", this route appeals to the better nature of the bullies to alter the bullying system. This approach is more humane and problem-solving, and regards bullying as a dynamic that can be changed (Sullivan, 2011), because bullies are not inherently bad people. So again, compassion makes an appearance one more time, if one applies the skillful means to give rise and strengthen to compassion and empathy in students, then bullying won't be a problem anymore.

Since eradicate bullying completely is not an easy task, students need to also be well equipped to deal with it, their main weapon: compassion. Compassion directed towards themselves, towards other students, and even towards the bullies. By being compassionate towards themselves, the bullied student will become his or her best ally, will ask for help and try to see that the bullying incident is mainly a symptom of something going wrong in the bully's life. By being compassionate towards other students, the bullied student will be able to help others going through the same. So with compassion, strength and wisdom can be built.

I would like to do more research about compassion in education, and also, about the different ways or skillful means that can be used to help students going through major struggles. I believe school is not only about getting good grades, but also, about becoming more sane, functional and compassionate human beings that are able to give back good things to society.

Image Credit: TrustED (2017). Retrieved from: https://www.k12insight.com/trusted/infographic-fight-bullying-compassion/

REFERENCES
Marshbank, A. Compassion as a Classroom Management Tool. Retrieved April 30, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/compassion-classroom-management-tool

Sullivan, K. (2011). The anti-bullying handbook. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.