BCTC Professional Standards
Standard #1
Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.
Sharing Circle & Ravens Rules
In my classroom all students belong. One way to add a sense of community to the classroom routine is a sharing circle. Starting the day with a sharing circle gives the students an opportunity to share whats on their mind before the day starts. In a sharing circle each student gets the opportunity to share and listen to their peers. This builds a sense of community and helps each student get to know each other. It also helps the teacher get to know their learners better. It is an exercise in listening and creates a sense of safety in the classroom.
My classroom is a safe space to learn. The classroom rules are: be yourself, understand others, problem solve, make mistakes and build community. To be yourself and understand others is an act of love. Loving yourself and one-other adds to the sense of safety in the classroom. To be a lifelong learner you must be able to problem solve - with others and with yourself. Making mistakes is part of the learning process and not something to feel shame over. To build community means to love one-another, be willing to learn and make mistakes. ​
Waiting Room
In the classroom there is not enough time in the day to have all of those little conversations with students like "what did you have for breakfast?" or "what did you do on the weekend?". Regardless of time, these conversations are important. I implemented a waiting room to make sure each student has a chance to have my undivided attention, even if its just one minute. Students who would sometimes be spoken over or more shy to approach me in the business of the day have the opportunity to talk with me, and the students who would often want to have a lot of these conversations would be mindful of taking time away from their peers, lessons and other activities.