Chapter 4
Creating a Safe Learning Environment
This is an extensive examination of all of the considerations and steps required to develop a structured and effective school and classroom environment. Such an environment provides the best chance for all members of a learning community to explore their lessons in a safe and secure state.
Introduction
This essay provides a sequence of steps that allow the teacher to create a classroom rule to address inappropriate behaviours that disturb the learning of all members of the class. The need for such structure stems from the underpinning philosophy that students will only learn prescribed abstract content when their physical and social needs are fundamentally satisfied. When behaviours designed
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The drivers of these behaviours are the inappropriate efforts to meet some social deficit. Every teacher will be faced with the disruptive consequences satisfying the social needs but these behaviours are unsuitable for the classroom. How you deal with them is important in creating a suitable classroom …show more content…
History, including contemporary political action is full of examples of people who imposed their faulty and dangerous beliefs, through the use of power that had devastating results. In the extreme case there could be little doubt that Hitler really believed in his cause but there is less belief that his actions were in the best interest of all. As teachers we need to examine our own beliefs and more importantly we must scrutinize the consequences our actions impose on others.
Therefore the ethical structure of the rules we develop, what we do to manage the behaviours in our class, must be underpinned by the examination of the questions:
What is Good?
This is the communal examination of the rules. They reflect the values of our society, our school. Any discussion of values produces a range of differing views. It’s like arguments about religion or politics. In these cases differences can have catastrophic and terminal results. However contemporary social values for our schools will be based on the concepts