Longing for Community

October 28, 2014

This week we discussed pages 41-53 of the book. This section of the book emphasized how humans are born to crave community. Children all want to feel included and loved amongst a group of people. One way they express this need is through language and conversation. We discussed this topic and how play has a role in developing community in our classrooms.

Some questions we focused on included:
 - How often do we have conversations with our kids?
 - How can teachers play?
 - How do we motivate students in all areas of learning?
 - How important are parents in a student's life?
 - Do we spend time listening to students and understanding them?
 - How do we allow students to express themselves in the classroom? 

Some practical takeaways from this week:
- Use games to engage your students in a lesson.
- Allow students to express themselves in multiple ways in the classroom.
- Make and point out connections between subjects.
- Use play in the classroom to motivate students to learn.
- Remember that our students are like sponges; they soak up all that they learn. 
- Build relationships with students by conversing with students regularly. 
- Avoid rushing through lessons and be aware of the "slower" learners in your classroom.
- As an adult, don't forget to play! (Outside of work)
- Make your classroom a place of safety and familiarity for students, so that they feel like a part of the "family".