Newsletter #24: Belonging is My Co-Teacher

“When we belong, we can take risks.” – Ron Ritchhart, Creating Cultures of Thinking

I’ve seen the TikToks of educators greeting each student at the door. A child taps their choice of greeting — a side hug, a high five, a fist bump — has an awkward-but-sweet exchange with the teacher, and enters the room. I’ve dismissed it and scrolled on. How can I greet the more than 250 students I see every day and still get through my content? Not possible.

I teach acceptance and belonging in other ways. I learn their names, know their siblings and, by the time they get to sixth grade, I know them. I know their favorite Pokémon, how many pet cats they have, and whether they’ve had a bad day. It’s one of the advantages of being a specialty teacher; I see them every week for years!

As we begin a new school year and rededicate ourselves to the task of educating children and making their thinking visible, remember that students learn best when they are “valued, respected, and known by adults” (Ron Ritchhart). If we want creative risk-takers in our classrooms, we need to ensure they feel supported and safe. To risk failure is to make oneself vulnerable. Teachers need to facilitate happy accidents and beautiful oops, otherwise they are unhappy tragedies and ugly flops.

Project Zero (PZ), a Harvard Graduate School of Education initiative, recommends building a culture of belonging before students start thinking. A few questions to ask yourself as you create your classroom space:

• Can every student see themselves in this space? In the pictures and signs? In the language? In the things posted around the room?
• How does this room look and feel? And smell?
• How will students be protected? From bullying? From unkind words?
• Where can students Connect? Explore? Create? Perform? Think?
• How will students know they are welcome and valued?

The culture is the co-teacher. Make sure the co-teacher is working for you and with you, not against you, and certainly not against the students. When we take time to build an environment of trust and respect, we can build powerful transformation. (Maybe you’ll even have time for a fist bump or a side-hug. Interestingly, research shows you’ll get the time back in increased engagement and decreased misbehavior.) Take the time to build understanding and belonging; it will pay dividends later.