Positive classroom relationships are the foundation of an identity safe classroom. You cannot create a sense of identity safety without a continuous focus on how the students are feeling and treating one another. Positive classroom relationships are based on trusting, positive interactions with the teacher and among the students.
Blog
May 27, 2015 - 9:09am
Many teachers believe that the best way to live Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream is to be colorblind, to ignore the differences among children. And yet, Dr. King did not really intend to make differences disappear. When teachers ignore differences in an attempt to be colorblind, classrooms are not identity safe. Students from negatively stereotyped groups can feel stereotype threat—a sense of not belonging, or not being seen as capable. These students may worry that they will be judged or treated according to a negative stereotype, or that they might do something to inadvertently confirm it.
May 22, 2015 - 10:10am
Unfortunately, the media headlines published “angry protestors” and “free speech” as the main focus. We were not angry, just full of conviction, and freedom of speech was never the issue. The issue was and always has been to make Bloomington/Normal a community where all people can live without fear of being stereotyped, discriminated against, or feel prejudice.
May 21, 2015 - 10:10am
The Marshalltown Times-Republican pays tribute to Marshalltown High School Principal Aiddy Phomvisay, who was integral in Marshalltown, IA's anti-bullying work and Not In Our Town group. Phomvisay appears in the Not In Our Town film showcasing the town's progress. After four years in Marshalltown, Phomvisay is moving to Des Moines. This article is republished with permission.
May 20, 2015 - 4:15am
Child-centered teaching prioritizes the students’ perspectives in all classroom activities and interactions. We met one teacher who used a literal change of perspective to get in a child-centered frame of mind: Each morning before the kids came in, she would sit in the chair of a different student and look around the classroom, imagining what would it feel like to be that student.