Protecting Bodies, Hearts, and Minds in School

Abstract

Making and keeping our schools safe is the sin gle most important thing that we do as teach ers and administrators in the schools. While recent national events have heightened the focus on increasing physical safety in schools, we understand that we do not strive to sim ply make our schools physically safe. As important as that is, it is imperative that we as educators recognize the importance of mak ing our schools emotionally and socially safe for our children as well. Every child must know that she comes to a school in which she is not only physically safe from harm, but in which she is also emotionally safe. We must create a learning space in which chil dren—their bodies, hearts, and minds—are protected. As you read through this journal, as you explore the ideas presented here, keep your school's culture and your community's values foremost in your mind. They are more important to your students' safety than locked doors or identification cards. As you read the suggestions made by the authors of these articles, think of how they may be woven into the fabric of that culture. What you choose to carry from this journal into your school will not be effec tive if it is merely added on, it must become a part of who you are as a community. At East Lyme Middle School we have learned, and in these articles you will come to see, that a safe environment cannot sim ply be superimposed over the picture of a learning environment. We have, like others, locked our doors during the school day, pur chased radios to improve contact among a number of key individ uals, and established and practiced lock down and intruder drills. But we have also dedicated ourselves to the belief that a safe school is more the result of shared community values and expec tations than it is the result of metal detectors or security guards. We understand that you cannot design an effective learning envi ronment if children do not feel safe, and you cannot, conversely, create a safe and sterile environment and expect good learning to happen of itself. It is, rather, a matter of layering the one concern with the other. At every level, and wherever appropriate, curricu lum, community, and safety concerns must intertwine. For instance, Richard Frost, Eric Olson and Lynne Valiquette will detail in their article (pp. 30-36) how the study of American History can at the same time build a sense of community among the students and make school a part of their quality worlds. We understand that the middle school model itself, as we have embraced it, provides us with the most logical template for a safe school. By organizing into teams, we essentially create several small schools within a larger school, allowing us to build relation ships with our students and supervise them throughout the day. We firmly believe that the most important element in making a school safe is making every child feel that he is well known and connected to a small number of concerned adults. Susan MacLaury, in her article addressing advisory programs (pp. 51-56), presents one way in which that connection can be fostered, and both David F. Bicard (pp. 37-45) and Joan L. Gibbs (pp. 46-50) pre sent articles which detail the importance of those adult relation ships and, specifically, the importance of how teachers model community values as they implement necessary disciplinary pro grams. In addition, administrators and teachers at East Lyme Middle School talk to students constantly about issues regarding safety and respect. Town meetings with the students are held periodi cally, especially when events occur in our community or in the country that increase student concerns about safety. Furthermore curricular topics like community and civic responsibility, human rights, bullies, and the role of bystanders in the Holocaust bring difficult issues to light that help our students become better and