The Importance of a Tolerant Classroom

I think that one of the qualities that a good teacher has to have is the ability to create a tolerant classroom. By that I mean a classroom where all students feel free to voice their opinions and offer their perspectives without fear of ridicule from me or from their fellow students. Fostering such an environment has several positive effects. The first is that it encourages students to engage and actively participate. If a student fears being shot down then they are less likely to speak up in class and less likely to pay attention.

Another consequence of having a class where students feel free to express themselves is that the students will be challenged by more perspectives than I could possibly bring to the class as a teacher. In a diverse classroom there could be an especially large number of opinions expressed. Students who participate will also be forced to learn how to respectfully debate and defend their ideas in conversations with differing perspectives and those types of skills are very valuable in life.

While I strongly believe in creating a classroom environment that encourages students to freely voice opinions, I do think there have to be some limits. I do feel like it is my responsibility to step in when racist or homophobic comments are made for instance.
I hope to be able to foster a tolerant environment in my classroom where students are free to express themselves for the reasons I have described above. Creating this sort of environment will not be easy but I think it starts with me setting a good example. I can’t be dismissive of the ideas of my students if they don’t fit in with my beliefs and when correcting factual errors I have to do so in a way that doesn’t make the student feel stupid. If I come across as dismissive or make students feel unduly embarrassed for making mistakes then I will lose any chance I have of creating an open environment. Ironically part of creating a tolerant environment will include, at least initially, policing student interaction. I will have to be quick to step in if a student is mocking other students who he or she disagrees with and is making people in the class feel uncomfortable about entering into discussion. I think one of the most important aspects of creating this sort of environment comes down to the composition of your class. The more students you have who have behavioral issues and who tend to try to pick on other speakers or to try to show each other up, the harder it is to overcome that element of negativity.