A student walks into class, already knowing the daily routine: He'll sit there, listen to the teacher's lecture and do the in-class work, rarely interacting with his English teacher. Eventually the bell will ring and he'll leave, looking forward to his next class: 2nd period algebra. It's not that he enjoys math, but Mr. K, the math teacher, makes him feel as if he "belongs" in the classroom. This routine continues. The student will pass his English class and move on, depending more on his ability to self-regulate and less on his desire to do well in the class.
This scenario takes place far too often in high schools across the country. In most cases, students don't have the ability to self-regulate as well as the child described above and their grades will suffer because of it. Chapter 7 of Subjects Matters describes how teachers can create an accepting environment by providing "social support," an idea that is easy to incorporate into the classroom.
Students need to feel as if they "own" the classroom. They need to feel like their voices are being heard. There are multiple, non-intrusive ways to do this. I say non-intrusive because we should always consider all students when making decisions. In the scenario above, the student's English teacher didn't do this, which lead to the less vocal student feeling ostracized. One way to convey the message that the classroom belongs to every student is to use a suggestion box. Students can anonymously give their opinions about anything. May they think the class is "dull" or they feel like you should teach a certain element of the content differently. By doing this, students understand that they have input in how the class functions. Too often educators forget that they work for the children, not the other way around.
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