Teachers carry a huge responsibility for the social behavior in the classroom because their students depend on them. Everything that a teacher says and how he/she behaves do have an impact on the students and it will spread because the attitude of the teacher is contagious.
Research on classroom management reveals that learners find it difficult to focus on academic work when there are social distractions. Goodenow (1992), Lantieri and Patti (1996) Schweitzer, et al. (1999) submit that belonging and acceptance are important factors in learning, and that one of the vital tasks related to a successful academic experience is being able to establish smooth interpersonal relationships and a peaceful learning environment.
According to Lantiere and Patti (1996), this concept was first coined by William Kreidler, an elementary school teacher and conflict expert, who saw that conflict in the classroom was caused by miscommunication, exclusion, inability to express feelings appropriately, and the lack of care and respect for each other.
A peaceable classroom is characterized by affirmation, cooperation, communication, appreciation for diversity, appropriate expression of feelings and peaceful conflict resolution. Nario and Galace (2003) revealed that bullying in the classroom is one of the major causes of distress and anxiety among students.
According to Castro and Galace (2008), there are ways to help create that atmosphere of love and acceptance in the classrooms. These are:
● Declare your classroom a zone of peace and establish rules to achieve it. On the first few days of school, introduce the concept of a peaceful classroom to your students by asking them what they think are the elements necessary in creating such. Ask them to make a poster showing that their classroom is a ‘Zone of Peace’ and the guidelines to achieve it.
● As the teacher, let this peace begin with you. Every time something rubs you the wrong way, remind yourself that you have resolved to be peaceful and would not allow yourself to ‘explode’. Each time you enter the classroom, breathe out or ground off any negative energy that affected you along the way.
● Radiate positive energy by affirming your students. With gentle words, say something positive or nice to someone. Recognize the ideas they contribute and show interest with what they say. Express feelings appropriately and encourage them to do likewise. Painful truths can be said in a way that does not injure.
● Encourage respect for and acceptance of differences. Students should not be ridiculed or marginalized especially for characteristics beyond their control. As a teacher, examine your own biases too and refrain from putting students down.
● Remind students to desist from bullying behavior. Stress the importance of respecting differences and that differences do not give anyone the right to tease, exclude, or hurt other people. Humor is good but jokes should not be said at someone else’s expense.
● Employ more cooperative than competitive activities. Cooperative activities enable students to work together to pursue a goal. These promote positive interdependence where they learn the skills of communication and collaboration. They will also learn how to solve problems together and help one another harness each of the members’ talents, skills and strengths.
● Teach students how to resolve conflicts peacefully and constructively. When there are conflict situations, take an active role against it and mediate using a problem-solving approach. Teach the students how to dialogue constructively and remind them that effective dialoguing requires that disputants to speak, gesture and listen to each other in a gentle manner.
● Practice the students’ communication skills. Conflicts arise in the classroom because of miscommunication, misperception and misunderstanding. These occur when the student does not accurately receive what was said by the other student or when someone’s act is inaccurately perceived. One strategy is to teach them to clarify and paraphrase responses in order to avoid miscommunication.