A Community of Learners

This week my assignment was to read Chapters 1 and 2 of Literacy for the 21^st Century, A Balanced Approach.   This is a great book, well laid out and full of useful information.  The section that really spoke to me was in Chapter 1, Principle 3: Effective Teachers Create a Community of Learners.  I think there is not enough time spent on this topic during teacher preparation.  Creating the proper learning environment is essential for effective learning to happen.

The authors list 10 characteristics that are essential for creating a community of learners.  These characteristics create an environment where students can feel empowered to try new things and know it is okay to make mistakes.  The students are actively engaged in what is going on in the classroom and they are given many opportunities to express their opinions and share their ideas.  

In Developing a caring attitude in the early childhood pre-service teachers (Education, Winter, 2002 by Krystyna Nowak-Fabrykowski, Paula Caldwell)  the authors discuss how to create such an environment:

“The guidelines for decisions about developmentally appropriate practice, developed by NAEYC (Bredekamp and Copple, 1997), stress creating a caring community of learners including the concept that the early childhood setting function as a community of learners in which all participants consider and contribute to each other's well-being and learning; a setting comprised of positive relationships, where each child is valued for his or her strengths; a learning environment enabling children to construct understanding through interactions with adults and other children; a program that protects children's psychological safety, where children feel secure, relaxed, and comfortable; and a learning environment that provides a variety of materials and opportunities for children to have firsthand, meaningful experiences (p. 16).” 

 I believe this is true for all classrooms, not only early childhood classes.

The underlying theme of the caring classroom is that the teacher must model and foster treating each other with kindness and respect.  Each student should be recognized and cherished.  A teacher can develop a wonderful lesson plan, but if the classroom is disorganized and the children don’t respect each other, it is unlikely that good, quality learning is happening.  I have seen classrooms where the teacher yells and belittles the students. The children are afraid to take chances or try new things.  They can develop a bad attitude toward the subject being taught or towards school in general.  My goal is to create an environment where students of all backgrounds feel welcome and secure.  I try to create an atmosphere where the students know I care about them and they care about each other.  Since I am still new at developing lesson plans and creating meaningful centers, I can, at a minimum, have an organized, cheerful, caring classroom.