Classroom Culture

A tolerant classroom can be difficult to achieve, but if created in the first few weeks of school, it can be invaluable to your success as a teacher. It seems critically necessary, especially in a social studies classroom, as we will be exploring controversial issues with the chance for things to get messy. Differing opinions can be exciting and could really aid class discussion, so they should be encouraged. I want my classroom to be a place where students feel comfortable answering questions and offering their opinions. This is a bit of a teacher's dream, especially for high school students. However, I think it can be created by developing a no tolerance policy for bullying, making fun of people, and general disrespect of other students and myself. This policy must be communicated from the first day. In the beginning, this may cause a rush of discipline issues, but I think if the students know the rules and know that I will enforce them, they will quickly learn that intolerant behavior is not accepted. Working on these things immediately should actually save time for content later in the school year.