Part of my plan to create a supportive and safe environment for my students is to institute an “open door policy” where I will try to be in my classroom as often as possible, and as long as students see that my door is open, they may come in during breaks simply to socialize with friends, eat their lunches, or do homework. They can also talk to me about anything, if they so choose. Students face a high amount of stress, especially in senior grades when the stress of grades and university or college applications can feel heavy. Some may also be the victims of bullying. I hope to keep my classroom stocked with books and board games so that students have a safe and happy place where they can come for stress-relief and sanctuary.

A crucial part of feeling safe and supported is a sense of trust and freedom. To be specific, students should trust their peers and feel like they have the freedom of saying whatever they want without fear of being judged. At the same time, students need to be aware of the language they use lest they hurt the feelings of their peers. I will ask my students to use politically correct and respectful language when speaking in class. For example, I will not tolerate students calling something “gay”, referring to women as “chicks”, or putting down each other’s ideas by calling them “lame”. I plan on building a sense of trust among the students by having them work in different groups so they get to know their peers even better than before. Once they learn more about each other, they will come to trust each other, and this will hopefully lead to a decrease in hurtful or politically incorrect language.

Along with promoting politically correct and respectful language, I am a strong proponent of collegiality. Due to the fact that I will be having my students do a great amount of group work, I will stress the importance of collegiality to my students. They may respectfully disagree with each other’s opinions and ideas, but putting each other down by denying their opinions and calling them lame will not be accepted. During group work, I will always be circulating among the groups to monitor discussions and ensure that students are being respectful of each other’s ideas.