Safe Talking Spaces

Safe Talking Spaces.

So I’ve been thinking a bit recently. 

-Thinking about engagement in the secondary classroom

- Thinking about whether learners [especially boys] are ‘thriving’ or just ‘surviving’ in our classrooms

-Thinking about how we, as teachers and schools, address the issues that our students face [how, when and where]

Where I have landed is best summed up by the diagram below. Please bare with me, while I explain. 

I am not sharing this from a position of pretending to be an expert but more from a place of concern.

What I hope this diagram does is provide a fairly obvious process that could assist in the creation of safer discussion spaces in our classrooms. Spaces where students can discuss ‘issues’ with the confidence that they are sitting  in a ‘trusted’ and ‘safe’ environment.

What follows is hardly revolutionary, in fact most of us probably already instinctively follow this process, but I hope in unpacking and reflecting on these three steps I hope that it may lead some of us to a more deliberate implantation of a trust building process that is understood by teachers and students alike.

Anyway, here goes.

I think most of us agree that schools play a vital part in providing spaces where students can explore and examine ‘issues’. These issues could be societal, environmental or personal. 

In fact the exploration of issues is at the core of many learning areas.

All too often though we don’t quite get to the stage where there is an open discussion, examination of the issue and how it relates to an individual or group. The discussions remain superficial, dominated by the confident students or just plain awkward.

It feels that  growing numbers of students are increasingly nervous or reluctant about engaging in conversations about topics where they express personal opinions on 'issues.'

I don’t want to explore the reasons for this here but  I do think that, as educators, we can work towards creating spaces of trust, where, currently, there is often an absence of that attribute.

If none of this resonates  with you, then well done, and I suggest you read no further as you are probably already ‘nailing it.’

Step One.

It is fairly standard to start a new topic or subtopic by accessing student prior knowledge on a topic;

What do you know about…?

What did you learn about…last year? Etc.

This is an obvious and essential place to start and is often done orally. If done well, it acknowledges the student as being of import in what will follow. It respects them as individuals and sends a message that they have a knowledge be it academic ,cultural experiential etc. that is valid and has a place in the mahi that will follow.

It needs, of course, to be guided by an understanding from all, about expectations of listening to everyone, respecting the views of others and other basic protocols that ensure an orderly and inclusive discussion/ sharing.

Basically what we are doing here is inviting participation where students can share their existing knowledge and understanding, it is therefore a personal space, where the learner brings themselves to the conversation/ activity.

As teachers we must ensure that we give this step space, It's not just for us the check what needs to be covered and what is already understood it is also a place where students are empowered to share their understanding and knowledge and therefore very important if they are to gain the confidence to participate in future conversations around ‘issues’ that may be more confronting.

Now the mistake I think we sometimes make is that we assume that a trusting environment therefore exists and we launch into asking students to share their opinions and/ or experiences a little too quickly and wonder why things go a bit quiet. What I would like to suggest is that there is a demilitarized zone that we first need to pass through, and this is…

Step Two.

I would like to suggest that the next step is all about introducing the ‘issue’ [climate change, toxic masculinity, AI, social media, racism etc.] on a level that is not  based on a more neutral approach. 

This can be  done through a text, story/ poem/ article/ song/ artifact that deals with the issue but does not require an immediate personal response. For most of us this is instinctive but I think it warrants being unpacked. 

This is a neutral space as the discussion is based on the text rather than the student. 

In can be something as simple as a picture book like ‘Cicada’ by Shaun Tan or ‘The Suitcase’ by Chris Naylor- Balesteros or  the lyrics of a song like ‘Shipyards’ by the Lake Poets. I think it is preferable that it is fairly simple at his stage so that the issue remains front and centre. There are plenty of more confrontational texts available as well, poems like  ‘Look Up’ and Look Up Two, Ten Years Later’ by Gary Tuck [they work quite well together] and ‘Can We Auto Correct Humanity’ by Prince Ea. Yep these poems are already a bit dated but that just shows how rapidly the world is changing.

The use of text at Step Two allows for engagement as students are not being personally examined and therefore the issue can be explored through  characters.

The issue can be explored rather than the individual.

Again conventions around treating all ideas, opinions and individuals with respect is vital.

If this is successful then it is possible that we can move to...

Step Three.

Over time, just maybe an environment of trust will develop that makes it Ok for the individual to return to the personal and share their opinion, experience or reflect back on themselves. Without trust there can not be meaningful collaboration around issues big or small.

I would like to suggest that before a student is able feel safe enough to personalize an issue in a social setting like a school and to share that position/ opinion with a teacher/peer /class they need to be given time to work through the ability to almost depersonalize the issue before they bring themselves to it.

Maybe this is where we as educators can play our part. 

I don’t share this as an expert but as someone who believes that sometimes it is just important to share thoughts.