I thought the ideas in the “Culture of Fear” article were easily applied to any classroom situation. I know that as a student, I often have to be comfortable with a group of people before I willing to share my ideas and opinions. It is important to remember that our students may be no different. Students can be afraid of a variety of things, for example academic failure or being thought stupid or uncool by peers. I have come to realize that I also have fears as a teacher. For example, I worry that my students won’t feel comfortable in my classroom or that they will not understand/care about what I am teaching them.
These fears relate directly to a type of community. Many different communities exist in each student’s life—classroom, school, and town/wider community. In terms of classroom community, it is important to make sure students feel welcome and comfortable with each other and you as a teacher. Although this will not necessarily eliminate all fear in the classroom, it is an important step. This idea can be extended into the wider community. As students become aware of different people, groups, and community activities they become less likely to avoid them because of fear.
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Through all of my philosophy papers, the most important thing that has permeated them all has been the idea of humanistic education and humanistic teaching. For me, the most important thing when I first came into my student teaching situation was to start to get to know the kids. What mattered the most to me is that the students saw me first as a person and not just someone who was going to get up in front of them and act like I knew who they were. For instance, with chorale at Pennsbury, a lot of those kids act out in class or seem really tired and not engaged. Talking to some of them I've realized what their home lives are like, or that they are working multiple jobs to support themselves. Some of them work till 11 every night, I can't imagine how tired I would be if I were in a situation like that. I think once the students realize that you are actually interested in them and their lives, they begin to open up. They become more and more willing to work for you during rehearsals because they know you respect them. This reciprocity in respect and understanding, I believe, helps more than anything else.
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