By: Aubrey Adams

 COMMUNITY Needs Characteristics Support  COMMUNICATION Sharing Respecting Behavior Student involvement  CELEBRATING DIFFERENCES Diversity Multiple Intelligences Inclusion

 What is a community?  What important qualities should a community have?

A community occurs when diverse people develop relationships and work together so that each person is supported by the group in growing, learning, and coping with challenges. You must encourage an environment of mutual respect, care, and a flexible balance of emotional support and productivity.

 Belonging  Inclusion  Support and care  Contributions and responsibility of all members  Democratic problem solving  Reaching out

 What do you think is a student’s MOST IMPORTANT “need” that needs to be met in order for them to achieve?

 Physiological needs  Safety-security  Belonging/love/affiliation  Self esteem  Self actualization  According to Maslow, students cannot achieve self actualization without the prior, basic needs first being met.

 In order for our students to achieve at their highest capabilities, we need to establish a community to ensure that their basic needs are first met.

 We can help students with both their academic and their emotional/social needs. In 1995 research shows that emotional and academic learning are linked in the hard wiring of the brain.  Emotional intelligence - The ability to handle emotions well. These emotions include interpersonal relationships, anger, feelings of sadness, and sense of self worth. E.I. accounts for at least 50% of success in life.

 Resiliency is the ability for individuals to overcome adversity and rise above devastating circumstances whereas others may not have been capable.  In order to build resiliency, we can…

1. Reduce factors that increase the risk of harm 2. Increase protective factors such as positive relationships, particularly with caring adults.

 It’s not all about focusing on being good disciplinarians, or stressing work sheets and working alone at desks.  In order to avoid misbehavior, you must keep your class engaged and interested, as well as promote an active, caring community.

 External locus of control VS  Internal locus of control

 Building a successful community in our school and class will occur in stages, through hard work and perseverance.  Peck (1987) says this occurs in 5 stages

1. Pseudocommunity, a state in which people act as if they are community and are “nice” but no not connect. 2. Next, chaos ensues as individuals begin to speak the truth to communicate authentically. 3. Emptiness: a time of waiting, listening, and confusion. We do not know what to do except listen.

4. Eventually, people begin to communicate and listen to one another, reach out, and build an actual community—a state both felt and objectively real. 5. Maintaining community is an on going process, and often we will recycle these stages.

 Creating a child- and family-centered vision.  Building a culture of respect.  Collaborative learning circles.  School-wide or multiclass themes for learning.  School celebration for all.

 Community starts and ends with daily classroom routines, building through small, ever-present interactions and procedures. Effective inclusive teachers take time for community-building activities.

 If our class is to be a real community, it must first and foremost be a place of sharing— sharing of hopes, dreams, joys, fears, challenges, and sometimes hurt, grief, and pain.

 What are some ways you can (or do) promote sharing in your classroom?  What about the students who prefer not to share?

 We invite students to participate but do not demand participation.  When the teacher treats all students with respect, despite their behavior, they are more comfortable taking risks and sharing.  When students feel intimidated or worried, however, the community bond is broken.

 Students are empowered when they feel that their voice matters in their learning, which will help establish a strong community. Give students the freedom to make choices, while giving them structure to help make good choices.

 What are some day-to-day choices you can (or do) allow your students to make?  Games that promote community? (p. 298)

 Everyone get out a piece of paper.  Write down 2 unusual (but true!) facts about yourself that NO ONE else in the class knows.  Write down 1 lie (that you think you can get away with!)  Repeat them to us in whatever order you choose.

Star Student - Building Community (**until 3 minute mark**)

 I have been a vegetarian for over 10 years.  I was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah.  I am 20 years old.  So which two are true?

 Student classroom leadership roles  Helping others as “experts” (***90% retention when students teach peers***)  Buddies, tutors, peer mentors  Circles of support (for intentional, intensive support)

 We help students learn to understand and value one another. In order to do this, we teach them to Understand common needs of all as human beings across our differences; and Explore ways in which human beings are different and ways in which these differences contribute to the total community.

 Teaching students about multiple intelligence’s is a constructive way to help students see that we all have abilities and differences and they do not make us better or worse than anyone.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid” - Einstein

 Questions/comments/concerns?