As secondary education teachers, we all want our students to be excited about our class and subject. We also know how difficult it can be to get teenagers excited about anything, let alone semi-colons. I sometimes think maybe if I started doing cartwheels or lit myself on fire my students would pay more attention. If I thought either would work, I would have tried by now. That being said, here are some ideas to consider when trying to create a classroom environment that students want to be a part of and might even tell their friends about.
1: ASK
Ask students questions about THEM. Ask them how they are doing, how their classes are going, about sports and clubs they attend, and even how they feel about current events (whether you are their social studies teacher or not). This SHOWS that you care about them as individuals and helps to build rapport with each student as well as the class. If this is uncomfortable for you to do, maybe try spending a couple minutes a period before the bell rings engaging with students and asking them questions. Don't forget to follow up with students too. Remember to ask them about the game they told you about or about whether or not they got their first car yet. If students know you care about them and like them, they might just decide they like you too! I don't know a single student who likes to be in a classroom with a teacher they don't like.
2: SHARE
It is not only important to ask students questions, but it is important to SHARE. I am not saying to share private and personal things with your students, but I am saying that sharing personal anecdotes and experiences when appropriate can be a very powerful way to build rapport with your class. Often students come from homes where they don't share or talk about things, making it all the more important that you do. For example, every year on September 11th, I share with students my personal experience of that day because I was a high school student just like them at the time. When my students are taking Driver's Ed, I share with them the hints my teacher gave me to help me dominate parallel parking. Sharing these experiences create helps create connection in the classroom and create an environment that students enjoy being in.
3. CREATE CLASS LINGOWhen I say class lingo, I am talking about the terms and phrases that are unique to your classroom. If you don't have any right now, start creating them! This fosters instant classroom community because they are like little inside jokes/terms that only students who have your class know. For example, instead of just having a spot in your room where you post student work, give it a name. Call it Jones' All Stars, or #GOALSBOARD, or some other pop-culture reference or play on your last name or subject. If you are creating grammar practice sentences or math word problems, simply using the names of students in your class in the examples helps to cultivate community. I find doing these little things even helps motivate me to continue cultivating a fun and unique classroom environment for my students. Just try it, and see what you think.
4. MAKE IT PRACTICAL
How many times have you sat in a meeting and wondered, "What do I need to know this for?". Well, teenagers sit in classrooms and wonder this all the time, and they usually express this exact frustration out loud, during class, like a lot. It can be hard for students to look beyond the now, and this is why it is important to explain to students how what you are teaching is actually relevant and practical for their future. Now, yes, I know that I have never had to prove two triangles congruent outside of high school, so how do we talk to students about content like that? Well, I stress with students to look beyond the content and focus on the skills they are building along the way. They might not need to know about a frog's anatomy in the real world, but they will need to know how to problem solve, get along with others, persist through adversity, have patience and self-awareness and the list continues. Making connections between what students are learning in your classroom and their futures is key in creating a classroom where students want to be.
5. BE YOUFinally, and probably most importantly, think about how much time you actually spend in your classroom. Do YOU like being there? If you don't like being there, why would your students? Your classroom should be an extension of you and your personality. Make your classroom a place where you actually enjoy being. Otherwise any enthusiasm about being there will be disingenuous, and students can smell a fake from a mile away. If you like plants, put some in the windows. If you are obsessed with your dog, put photos of the lil guy on your desk. How about just creating worksheets using a font that you like to look at! Whatever changes you can think of big or small, that will you happier in your classroom will trickle down to your students.
I hope that some of these ideas will encourage you on your journey in teaching secondary education. If you have any ideas that you love that have helped you cultivate a classroom students enjoy being in, please comment and share!
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