We are thrilled to share our new and improved #Day1 toolkits with you, our community. For the past five years, #Day1 has helped teachers, group leaders, coaches, and faith leaders set clear boundaries for behavior and create safe, respectful spaces for all individuals. Our #Day1 program has enabled leaders everywhere to honor Tyler’s memory by encouraging others to be #Upstanders. At the Tyler Clementi Foundation, we are so proud of the positive impact #Day1 has had on people around the world.
If you haven’t already, we invite you to share your experience with us by e-mailing outreach@tylerclementi.org. We also encourage you to renew your #Day1 promise by visiting our website and downloading our new #Day1 materials.
View our new #Day1 Here: https://tylerclementi.org/
#Day1 works because it sets clear boundaries and creates emotional safety for all students. It allows you to let students know that both you and their classmates will be Upstanders if they ever notice bullying. Continue reading to learn more about creating emotional safety and setting clear boundaries in the classroom.
Creating Emotional Safety
“Emotions are important in the classroom in two major ways. First, emotions have an impact on learning. They influence our ability to process information and to accurately understand what we encounter. For these reasons it is important for teachers to create a positive, emotionally safe classroom environment to provide for the optimal learning of students. Second, learning how to manage feelings and relationships constitutes a kind of “emotional intelligence” that enables people to be successful.”
– National Center for Safe, Supportive Learning Environments
Emotional safety for students means feeling welcome to express their emotions and take risks. It is an important aspect of emotional intelligence that students need in order to learn and develop. In the past year, students who have missed in-person classroom time may have fallen behind academically. As educators, it may be difficult to come to terms with these gaps in learning and we might want to push students to catch up. Promoting academic achievement is important, however, we should also prioritize emotional safety. If students feel emotionally safe, they will be more likely to grow academically. Safe, happy students are more likely to make academic gains compared to students who are experiencing stress in the classroom. Sharing the #Day1 declaration and taking the #Upstander pledge is one clear way to help all students feel safe.
As Mariale Hardiman, Dean of the Urban Schools Partnership at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education suggests: “Reducing stress and establishing a positive emotional climate in the classroom is arguably the most essential component of teaching…”
Another way to promote emotional safety is to share in the novelty of new experience with students as the first weeks of the school year are full of new experiences. Teachers can do this by rewarding positive participation, empathy, and compassion. These first weeks have a dramatic impact on students’ interactions with learning and knowledge. In these first weeks, many students–especially pre-adolescent students– can be overwhelmed by the novelty of the experience. It can therefore be difficult to absorb new information through traditional learning. This may be especially true if students are returning in-person to schools for the first time after months of virtual learning.
As a teacher, you can create mindfulness routines with your students and take time to notice how “new” the classroom environment might feel to you and them. Teachers can also promote emotional safety by practicing active listening to students and rewarding their participation (not perfection). When we interact and engage with students as active listeners who are open to their diverse experiences and backgrounds, we increase the overall level of trust and connection in the classroom. We can make space for this in the classroom by celebrating how all of our students are unique.
Set Clear Boundaries for Students
One of the reasons we believe so strongly in our #Day1 program is that it sets clear boundaries for students. Boundaries are different from “rules” in a few key ways. Rules like “no insults” paired with a consequence might be a good reminder but may have the potential to lead to negative behaviors for the purpose of attention-getting. Rules and consequences can also promote behavior that is based in fear rather than a desire for positive outcomes. This can lead to negative power dynamics between teacher and student. As Dr. Jane Bluestein writes in an article for Education World:
“…teachers who endeavor to shift from the win-lose familiarity of rules to the win-win prospects of boundaries report a significant decrease in conflicts and power struggles in their classes, and far greater success in reaching kids previously deemed difficult…”
Boundaries, on the other hand, offer a positive win-win dynamic. Setting clear boundaries creates an environment where all students are invested in the same goal of feeling safe. Boundaries offer a positive outcome for positive behaviors: if we all treat one another with kindness and respect, we will all feel safe in this classroom. This is a collective responsibility rather than a fear-based rule to abide by.
A simple shift from rules to boundaries can shift the focus from potential negative outcomes of consequences toward the positive outcome of everyone feeling safe. That doesn’t mean that logical consequences shouldn’t exist. They should and can be a helpful reminder to students or a way to make amends for negative behaviors.
#Day1 makes it clear to students that being an #Upstander will enable both them and their classmates to feel safe, learn, grow, and have a great school year. As the teacher implementing #Day1, you will say:
“I want us to have a safe and successful school year. So today I am going to tell you how students here are expected to behave. I expect you to act and speak with kindness and respect. I also expect you to speak up if you see any kind of bullying. If you ever feel unsafe in school, tell me or another adult right away. This is what it means to be an Upstander.”
#Day1 states that negative behaviors will not be tolerated by anyone in their community. Setting this clear boundary helps teachers create a safe and productive environment. We believe that establishing this clear boundary for students will help you create a safe space for everyone in your classroom. Please browse, download, and implement our #Day1 toolkits this school year. And, as always, share your experiences, feedback, ideas, or questions with us by emailing outreach@tylerclementi.org.