Setting Up A Learning Environment

Having experienced a variety of educational experiences myself has given me a unique perspective when it comes to learning environments and what works and what doesn’t. Starting my educational experiences in public schools, transitioning to homeschooling, then to a small private school, before heading back to public school has shown me that kids learn and thrive in very different environments. Yet, our schools continue to design themselves to meet the needs of the masses, while not truly understanding that if we build in flexibility, things can really change for our students. 

Kindergarten and first grade for me were at our local public schools. Think of your typical classrooms from the late ’80s and that was them. There were rows of desks, color, and classwork on the walls and students were sitting at desks while the teachers stood up and delivered. When I transitioned to homeschooling things were different. My parents learned about all the different curriculum choices, socialization opportunities, and how to support the social and academic needs of their children that suddenly they were going to take over all academic instruction and monitoring of learning. My mom was the teacher and my dad was the principal. (That's right, he called himself the principal. When I first became a principal, he tried to give me advice, since he had been a principal before. I told him that a principal of 2 kids is a little different than a principal of 600.) They built an environment for my older brother and I that if we sat down and went through the instruction and completed the work, we could be done relatively quickly. There was a huge difference between being at school with 20+ other kids asking questions, classroom management issues, and such. The learning was at a much faster pace and we had much more time within our day. From homeschooling to a small private school provided a completely different learning environment. When I say small, I mean very small. This school was a K-12 school with a total enrollment of 23 students. During physical education class, it took us 32 laps around the complete playground to reach a mile. This school provided very small classes in an environment with very few distractions. This allowed the school to include different subject matter that simply there is not enough time for in public schools. Not better or worse, just different. The one thing that became very clear was that kids learn in very different ways. When we set the environment and require everyone to do the same thing, our kids don’t win. 

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Parents- Setting Expectations

When we set expectations for our students and our children, kids understand the level that they are trying to meet. There is a scene in the movie Despicable Me where Gru sets the expectation for the kids. They are over the top expectations that were unrealistic. The kids should follow everything he tells them without question. That doesn’t happen in our schools nor does it happen in our homes. Realistic expectations help with setting up a positive learning environment for everyone. 

When thinking of expectations, think of three things. Your expectations should be clear, concise, and positive. When we provide children with unclear, long, and negative expectations they are left without boundaries and humans thrive with structure. They are looking to their teachers and parents to provide that structure for them to grow within. 

Think about the different areas of your school or your house. Think of the expected behavior in each of those areas and write them down, keep the three goals of an expectation: clear, concise, and positive. What I just described here is known as a behavior matrix and using this matrix will help with your communication with your child and allow for a productive conversation. No matter the age. As you create a behavior matrix for your family/classroom think about these things: 1. Work together; 2. Have your kids/students write them out; 3. Ask for input; 4. Come to an agreement with the class/family; 5. Write the expectations down and post somewhere visible; 6. If someone does not live up to the expectations, review them again and re-teach; 7. Review and reteach daily if needed. We need to teach expectations and stop having false senses of reality that kids just know how to behave.

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Teacher Tips:

1. Build a behavior matrix starting on day one in your classroom. Use the time to build community in trust while also setting everything up for a successful year.  (Virtual or In-Person) 

2. Be mindful that not everything will go perfect. There will be challenges and struggles that come up along the way. Start now with creating a group of scholars that will be able to accomplish anything. 

Parent Tips:

1. Look at your home and how you have things set up to support your students' learning. 

2. Give yourself grace and flexibility to shift when things aren’t working. Expectations and routines take time. Visit and revisit expectations frequently, so both you and your children know what is expected.