Welcome to the Peace Zone!

As I continue on this journey to learn more about the art and science of teaching, I find myself
reflecting on my own classes, and my library. I've been a librarian for many years now, and teaching for almost half of those years -- but only now am I going into a classroom all my own.

I've always taught in my library, in the computer lab section. This idea of a class atmosphere or environment is sort of what we do in the library. We cultivate a culture there; most everyone knows and understands the rules of a library. We are meant to provide quiet spaces where people can read, think, and dream. In my library I've called this the Peace and Quiet Zone.

I used to have a statue of a hand in a peace sign gesture that was placed near the entrance. It was one of the first things you saw when you walked in. It's funny - I didn't realize how important that was, or really what it did. But it set the tone for our library. You could not pass without seeing it. This universal sign for peace was a quiet but insistent announcement - this is what is expected of you here. This is what you will find here. And it created a safe place for students who needed and wanted that kind of environment.

One of my former students,  Dominique asked if she could keep
the Peace Sign for her dorm room.  I said of course, of course!
But it shows me how much these small things can mean
to a student. She's graduated college by now. 

What I like about the idea of establishing a Peace and Quiet Zone is what it symbolizes - Peace meaning tranquility, where respect of oneself and others is paramount. Peace referring to harmony, where ideas and peoples of different background can exist side by side, with acceptance and appreciation. Like books on the shelf, each with its own story to tell, its own unique viewpoint, which when taken together, one may glimpse the beautiful, colorful, poignant whole that is also the truth of things. So is it with the people who entered our space. Their - our - value is in our differences, and in our unique and varied character and history.




And finally, Peace meaning the absence of aggression. There is no place for it here. No tolerance of intolerance. No abrasive, brutish, or boorish behavior here -- NO bullying allowed or tolerated! Ours is the Peace and Quiet Zone.

Quiet is another powerful term. It requires a community in agreement towards that end, out of a respect for the needs of the community, for places to work, think, ponder. Imagine. Dream.
Quiet is a request for that which we all need, but which is often hard to find. When you enter a Peace and Quiet Zone, you come because its what you need and want. And all who enter, agree. This is a place where we care for one another, for one another's needs, in this case, the need for peace and quiet. And because we care, we agree to respect one another's need... for quiet.

Finally, the term Zone. This is another very specific term, We could have used the words "place" or "room," but those don't mean the same thing. Zone indicates a particular space, with a particular boundary, that is defined by a shared energy, or activity. Ours is the Peace and Quiet Zone. If you want loud and noisy, there are other zones for that. But not here!

But seriously, bullying and cyber-bullying are serious concerns. My peace sign is a great start, but how else can I  deal with such issues? Rules and posters, of course, but one of the first things we do in the technology class is review the Acceptable Use Policy for using the schools network and internet resources. In this document there are explicit and specific rules and consequences for cyber-bullying in particular.

In addition, each year we provide units on Digital Citizenship, Netiquette and Internet Safety. One of my favorite lessons was having students actually go through their privacy settings on Facebook, and teaching them about the levels of controls that they have available to them. We use another service called Goodreads and Edmodo to introduce students to social media, and when these accounts are set up, we go through similar practices and discussions. Our IT class also provides the perfect opportunity to introduce some of the work from  The Ophelia Project : It Has a Name . This program provices some wonderful on line materials and work sheets that we can incorporate into our unit on Digital Citizenship. 

So then. How do I accomplish this task? ? How do I transfer these ideas, these norms, to my new classroom? To create a Peace and Quiet Zone there, where everyone understand and respects them? I'm learning and realizing that it all begins and ends with communication. You have to convey the message, and others have to understand it. And we all have to agree to abide by it, to build it.

But before I can communicate a message, in other words,"set a tone," the first and most important thing is to KNOW what message I want to send. To be clear on what I want this space to look like and be. How I want it to feel. How I want us to function within it. What kind of tone I want to set -- what are the norms that describe and create the kind of environment that I want? That we all will want?

Once we've got our tone identified, and the norms that will help us to create that tone, then we have to set rules. Rules are the specific behaviors that we are all expected to observe. They are like the bricks that form the foundation of our norms.

Secondly, I have learned, it is vital to start DAY 1! This is not something I have done consistently in the past. I can see now, how important it is, though. I plan to begin at the beginning - from the minute they arrive at my door. I want to control the entrance - and also establish a connection with each student. I plan to greet each child with a smile, a hello, and a small gift. Then direct them right from the beginning to a seat assignment before they even enter the room. Hopefully, with this gesture, I will both form an initial positive connection, and also establish that there is order in my classroom, and we have rules to follow.

But besides establishing an initial relationship, and communicating that this room has order and rules, I also want to ensure that all my students, where ever the come from, whatever language - or languages - they speak, no matter what their background, all are welcome here. I want them to understand that my room - our room - is a Peace Zone. I will have to find other ways to communicate that message to my students. Another type of peace statue or sign. Whatever it is, it must be universal, and simple. Instantly recognizable, and understood by all.

In addition, this is, after all, a computers skills    class. I want to convey a sense that this is also a space for creating, making, experimenting and doing everything techy and cool. I want students to feel comfortable setting their inner nerd free! I'll need another universally understood gesture for the kingdom of Geek....

Ah. I've got just the thing for it. Spock's got me covered.

That will certainly speak to aliens of all planets - but how will I relate to my kids, who are coming from so many different countries?

Certainly one way will be to have greetings in various languages, and flags from many nations as part of the classroom decor. Part of our introductory activities can involve sharing where we call home. Perhaps a world map posted on the bulletin board, with students placing pins in the various places they are from. Then, as a technology project, perhaps we can make a Google Earth version of our wall map.

Also, in terms of technology teaching, one thing that is helpful is to have both AZERTY and QWERTY keyboards for students who are French speakers. It's a controversial point, though, as it is an American school, and everyone is supposed to adhere to English. But its it would be interesting to study the various keyboards, as part of a lesson as we do our typing practice. Imagine having our students practice typing on a keyboard they are not familiar with!

We have done, and will do again, Host Country Studies, to help students learn more about Cote d'Ivoire. One of my favorites was a lesson that time climate change to cocoa production in Cote d'Ivoire (one of the top three producers of raw cocoa). It was interesting to learn that the change in temperatures were making longer lasting cold spells in the mountains of Man -- thus impacting the growth of cocoa, and hence, the income of people in that area.

Another such project was a collaboration with the art class as students learned about the various ethnic groups in Cote d'Ivoire, but studying - and making masks.

Another important aspect of classroom climate is the decor and arrangement. Unfortunately, in a computer lab, where the furniture has already been picked out and installed, I won't have as many options as I'd like. But I have some ideas. Perhaps I can hang signs from the ceiling to identify the different functions I want for my room -- the Creation Station , The Research section, the Presentation section, etc.... We can circulate from section to section when the time arises.

And a lot can be done with color and decor, too. I have had this lovely shade of what I call zen jade green in mind for a long time. Not sure if I'll be able to find it here in Abidjan, but I will try. It used to be the color of my office space in my old school. Kids seemed to love my office. They stopped by all the time, to sit in my wicker wing chair, and chat. I think it was because of the environment I'd created both for my office and my library. I'll seek to do the same in my classroom, too.

As I am planning and contemplating, I am thinking about the kind of tone I'd like to set. I'd like to keep that Peace and Quiet Zone feel - but I also want my classroom to be a place that is alive with exploration and experimentation. I want kids to feel excited about making and creating things, from video to robots, to whatever sparks their imaginations. It seems those are two opposites. So I think I have my work cut out for me! 

Bur the classroom, like my library, is a community, And just like any community, we will decide what is acceptable and not, what we value and what we do not. What we will tolerate, and what we will not. These will become and are the norms of our community. We'll set the rules, and we'll figure out the procedures, so that all the newcomers will know what to do. And brick by brick we'll build it. Together.