Creating a Welcoming Environment in The Classroom

When I decided I wanted to become a teacher, I knew it would be different from any other secular job I had done before. I was really getting tired of what I was doing. I decided to teach special education because I didn't think the kids in general education needed me as much, plus there was a higher demand for special education teachers. Now don't get me wrong. I am not someone who wants to spend her days dealing with a lot of stress, but I don't mind a challenge now and then. Makes life just a little more interesting.

 Well okay, so I got what I asked for, in terms of interesting. I work at an alternative school and talk about challenge. My students have been placed at my school because they were expelled from a comprehensive school, or they fell really far behind in credits and for one reason or another (alot of times it has to do with age) they were not eligible to attend a Continuation High School. For elementary and middle school students a Continuation High School is not an option. I guess I forgot to mention that my school has children ranging from elementary to high school.

Although, I am a special education teacher the model at our school is that we (the teachers) are accountable to all our students. I have the responsibility of teaching both special education and general education students. I like that model because it gives me a chance to work with children at all learning levels. Now comes the challenges.

 I work with children from broken homes, foster homes, and some of the saddest situations I have seen. There are children that come from stronger homes, but they all have something in common. For one reason or another they couldn't cut it at a comprehensive school, (that is what we call regular 182 day a year mainstream schools).

 We have no money, not much in the way of resources, and all of us teachers have to share our space, or classrooms a little more than maybe some of us would like. To top it off I am challenged with finding ways to make my environment inviting, a place where my students will feel welcome, and a place where they will be willing to come back to each day. I have gotten some really good recommendations from other experienced teachers, here are a few things I thought were worth sharing:

• Always be polite and greet students with a positive salutation
• Allow 5 minutes or more to talk about how students are doing and invite them to share stories about things they have done since you last met. You can really get someone's attention when you ask them to talk about themselves
• Share something about yourself with your students. Funny stories are always valuable
• Nothing wrong with having snacks in class from time to time, small rewards can be painless and cheap
• Allow free time so that the students can socialize with each other (once a week, or at the end of class when appropriate)

My favorite

 **Watch a movie every once and awhile. It can still be educational. Make it so by having the students write a summary about what they viewed and what they learned. If it has a significant social impact have them discuss it in their summary.