Encouraging student leadership

Orientation to the Profession | Outcome #1 | Creating and sustaining an engaging, inclusive, safe and equitable learning environment.

When I worked as a Child & Youth worker and implemented education programs and workshops, I often had only one session to earn the students' trust and respect. In order to maintain order throughout the lesson(s), it was integral to give them a level of power and responsibility. For the first 5 minutes before the start of every workshop, I'd ask them how they would like their classroom community to be like? This conversation with my students was the beginning of a democratic classroom.

In the early years of my work with students, I used to have an outline of rules and expectations in the classroom. This eventually evolved to a charter of rights and freedoms co-created by my students. I found that their contribution to the creation of a democratic classroom would give students’ a sense of agency as well as accountability. The charter is centered around the students' right and what they believe would be a just classroom that is suitable for learning. Given these rights, they are to understand how they are upheld in the classroom community (Marschall, 2021).

I found this bulletin board in a grade 4 classroom which reminded me of the charters I'd co-create with my former students. It's so important to give students the right to create an environment that will suit their needs. By doing it, they will be more inclined to learn.

Marschall, C. (2021, July 27). The Power of a Democratic Classroom. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/power-democratic-classroom/