Safe Spaces are very important for children to grow to be empathetic and aware individuals. This course will help you create a safe, and healthy environment conducive to learning in your classroom. You will be better prepared to learn how to understand the needs of your students and be the supportive mentor figure they need while growing up.
Through this course, teachers will understand why safe spaces are important for a student’s growth and mental health, and will also learn how they can create such safe spaces for their students. Teachers will learn different strategies that will help them provide emotional outlets to their students and encourage the students to express themselves freely.
This course consists of 5 sections:
- Section 1: Feel: Here we will reflect on our own understanding of safe and unsafe spaces and examine the kind of spaces we have created for the people around us.
- Section 2: Imagine: In this section, we will look at what a safe space means for different people, and what it looks like in action. We will also be introduced to the components that are common to most safe spaces.
- Section 3: Do: Here we will go through different practical structures through which you can create a safe space in your classroom.
- Section 4: Share: In this section, we will look at ways to share what we have learnt about safe spaces and spread the learnings to our classroom and beyond.
- Section 5: Assessment: Here we will be able to reflect on what we have learnt in this course, and identify the concepts we will need to revisit or revise.
Standards
This course meets the following standards:
1. Teaching as Leadership:
I-5 Create a welcoming environment through rational persuasion, role models, and constant reinforcement and marketing to instill values (e.g., respect, tolerance, kindness, collaboration) so that students feel comfortable and supported enough to take the risks of striving for the big goals.
2. CENTA:
- CC.1.1b: Ability to organise the classroom and its facilities to ensure physical safety, comfort and emotional security of the students.
- RS 1.1a: Ability to interact with students with warmth and respect in all situations.
RS 1.2a: Ability to address and leverage dissent constructively.
