Checking the Emotional Climate in the Classroom

We were given this reading earlier in the year and I have just gotten around to reading it now (while one of my student teachers called out the words for the Vernon Spelling test).  There are so many things I want to read and not enough time.  This was just a one page article from the Education Review series so it was a quick and easy read.

It is based on the research of Ian Evans and Shane Harvey who used this research to write a book called Warming the Emotional Climate of the Primary School Classroom.

As a teacher I try to create postive individual reltionships with all my students but it can be tough to give them all the time they deserve so we must create a positive classroom climate.

The article outlined some basic principles for building the emotional climate in your class.  These are:

• Set clear boundaries.
• Act in a fair manner.
• Be aware of, acknowledge, and label your own feelings.
• Acknowledge and affirm the child's feelings.
• Set high standards and expectations.
• View emotions as 'teachable moments'.
• Avoid punitive tactics, put-downs, sarcasm, and criticism without specifying the positive altermnatives.
• Be self-accepting, confident, and secure.
• Remain calm - your emotional state is mirrored by students.
• Develop student support.
• Talk through emotional situations.
• Be emotionally available.
• Accept and emphathise with how students feel.
• Listen with interest.

When I reflect on this list I can see things that I already do but I can see some things that I would like to work on further.
As I think forward to next year and how I would like my class to be, I think I am going to start viewing emotions as 'teachable moments' and to talk through emotional situations with students.  I feel these goals will lead nicely into the PB4L initiative that the school will possibly be taking on.

I haven't quite yet thought about how I am going to do this but I already know that I will tie it into our virtues.

At this stage my professional reading list is pretty long but I would like to add this book to it to help me reflect on my practice and to check the emotional climate of my classroom.