I believe the foundation for any positive educational environment stems from the relationships created formed between both students and teacher as well as between peers. As a teacher developing a relationship with your individual students is enormously important in order to foster a positive learning environment. Our decisions as teachers need to be based on these relationships in order to address the needs of the individual learner. A safe, caring and respectful atmosphere stems from a teachers genuine interest in developing a relationship based on these same fundamental values.

I believe a class should be an environment that feels safe and inspires confidence towards learning. A caring atmosphere that reinforces a feeling of safety and inclusion is needed for students to be able to flourish as learners. A classroom climate needs to be an engaging, fun climate built on respect between students and teachers, but one with clear boundaries between teachers and students as well. The classroom should be a place where students, with the teacher, create their own environment in which they can hold as their own and take pride in. Themes and expectations should be built together according to this environment. The teacher plays an integral role in setting the tone for these expectations and keeping both students and themselves accountable.

I believe the teacher is a facilitator of learning. They have a difficult job of balancing lesson methods, allowing for a numerous variety of learners to be stimulated and have an opportunity for success. Inclusion of all types of learners should be the goal in the classroom. The role of the teacher is to facilitate confidence in learning and guide ownership and pride in each student’s own learning, as well as the learning of their peers. Fostering a learning environment based on student-centered learning is integral for genuine interest and motivated inquiry by students in the classroom.

This poem embodies what our goal as teachers should be:

When the Master governs,

The people are hardly aware he exists…

When his work is done, the people say,

“Amazing, we did it all by ourselves!”

(Unknown)

We are there to facilitate the learning of our students, not to be the ones who “taught” it to them. In order to be encouraged to continue learning and engaging in the material they need a sense of ownership and accomplishment. If students feel like the key contributors in their own learning then they will have a sense of success in the classroom and be further motivated.