I just have to brag about this 5th grade class
for a minute:
I am so impressed at how willingly all of the students have
been to jump into every activity I have asked of them. During my Elementary
Practicum last year I taught a group of 5th graders who really
struggled with taking risks, being bold, and jumping in. So I was naturally
nervous about having this same issue with this class. On my very first visit t
this class I noticed that they repeated a class motto every Friday about their
right to be in an environment where they feel safe. I took the liberty of
starting a conversation with them about what it means to be in a safe
environment. One of the important takeaways I wanted them to get from that
discussion was that drama can sometimes feel unsafe because we have to
vulnerable, or silly, or try things without knowing if they’re going to work.
However, if we know that everyone in the class is going to treat us
respectfully, we never need to feel unsafe.
I have reinforced this motto at the beginning of every
visit, saying something like, “Remember, drama sometimes means being a little
silly, and it sometimes means performing in front of others. But we are here to
make each other feel safe, just like your class motto says, so let’s remember
to encourage each other and not make fun of each other as we do our best to be
as silly as possible.”
I think this has made my class much more willing to take
risks, knowing that those risks will be celebrated, rather than belittled.
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