What Is a Classroom?

Part 3: Cherish the Children

A classroom should be welcoming. It should emit a feeling of a “home away from home.” There should be something at the door, beckoning the students in, elements in the room encouraging them to stay, and something intrinsic making them relish being there and encouraging them to linger longer.

Of course, the human factor is the most important thing: how the students feel about themselves, their teacher and their classmates. However, the setting in which the human factors reside to have their English experience is the springboard to promote camaraderie in the classroom. It can also act as an important teaching resource in itself.

What effort have YOU made to make your classroom inviting? Are there posters on the walls to use for warm-ups? Are there windows welcoming sunlight in? Windows are also great resources to rely on when one wants to ask questions about the weather or the seasons. All one has to do is look outside! Is there a CD player there so you can play music when the students enter the room? Do you realize that in doing so, you are subliminally announcing to the students that this is your English-speaking territory and that they are guests in your room? Since people usually adapt to the mood of the music, you can show ownership in a situation by creating a musical atmosphere. Are there plants by the window or flowers on a desk or table? A touch of beauty adds softness and warmth to any classroom.

Are the blackboards/white boards clean and within easy view of all students? Do you have a student blackboard where students can write their names or answer simple questions? Have you noticed that students love to write on blackboards or white boards? Take advantage of that enthusiasm!

YOU, the teacher, are the orchestrator of creating a classroom that will be a pleasant place for students to visit, a springboard conducive to positive learning experiences. At the same time, your classroom should be a place reflecting the relationship that exists between you and your students as well as the students with each other. Finally, your classroom environment creates the vibes that your school emits to the students and their parents and is an integral part in creating your English family.

Helene J. Uchida

Helene J. Uchida's column, Cherish The Children, is published on the last Friday of every month. Stay INformed by checking out the IN the KNOW English Educator's Journal on the InTogether website for more articles from Helene and other amazing educators.