Teachers, Knowledge, Building Relationships: Invitation and Hospitality
Reflecting upon the ways in which my teachers constructed invitational and hospitable classroom environments, simple, kind acts and gestures that they extended proved to be the most impactful on my learning outcomes. Beginning each day of learning, I remember meeting my teacher in the doorway of the classroom. As she welcomed each of us inside, she was intentional to greet us by name and made direct eye contact. At the time, I do not think that I recognized how impactful a gesture such as this was on my ability to accept her invitation to learn. Dr. Fatima explained in her lecture the importance of learning student names as well as pronouncing them correctly in order for students to feel seen, accepted and welcomed. My teacher’s active greeting assured me that I belonged in our classroom space, while also giving me confidence to know that I was in a safe place where my thoughts and feelings could be shared. Had she not remembered my name, or said my name incorrectly on a consistent basis, I would not have felt safe, comfortable or accepted – which could have had a detrimental effect on my learning and development outcomes. As an educator I intend to implement and carry forward this practice with my students to ensure that they feel welcomed and accepted into their classroom – confident that it is a comfortable space in which they can learn and belong.
Role reversal, as mentioned by Dr. Fatima in her lecture, was a memorable technique that I recall being used by some of my teachers to help build a sense of community in our classrooms. Divided into groups, we would be given the opportunity to work alongside our peers and present our acquired knowledge to our teacher and class. Using this technique, my teacher would temporarily switch roles with us becoming ‘the learner’ and allowing us to become ‘the teacher’. Being extended the role of ‘teacher’, demonstrated that we were trusted, valued members within our classroom community and that we too held valuable knowledge. Holding a shared experience and responsibility of teaching the class empowered me as a learner while also allowing me to strengthen relationships with my peers and teacher – this deepened the sense of community held between individuals in our classroom environment. As an educator, implementing the technique of role reversal within my teachings is a tool that I look forward to using in order to create shared dialog in my classroom to foster learning, strengthen relationships and develop a sense of community.
My teacher’s active greeting assured me that I belonged in our classroom space, while also giving me confidence to know that I was in a safe place where my thoughts and feelings could be shared.