Building and Fostering Community

Resources and Activities for Building Respect

The TESL graduate appreciates the diverse cultures and the range of socio-cultural and
economic communities that constitute the class, and recognizes the potential effect of
these factors on adult language learning. She/he creates, with the learners, an inclusive,
accommodating, yet suitably challenging learning environment that enables all learners to
meet their needs. TESL ON Standard, 2013
Why do we want to build and foster community in our classes?
*1 minute to jot down notes on your own, 2-3 minutes to discuss with a partner*
What are some simple ways we can build and foster the community we want to create in
our class?
*2-3 minutes to discuss with a partner*
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Build respect and acceptances between all members of the classroom

Encourages co-operation, teamwork, and building negotiation/ management skills
Create a sense of belonging and purpose in a classroom
Create and sustains motivation in learners
Boost awareness of cultural diversity, customs, expectations and life-stories of
other learners
Allows for a positive learning environment where all feel comfortable expressing
themselves
Try to encourage co-operative learning and acceptance of others in the classroom
as much as possible, remember no matter what your learners choose to do with
their life beyond the classroom their success will often be determined by how well
they work with their colleagues

What are some simple ways we can build and foster the community we want to create in
our class?
*2-3 minutes to discuss with a partner*
Simple Suggestions:
1) Dont post rules in your class at the start of the learning period; instead have learners
create them with each other.
2) If possible dont completely decorate your classroom but allow learners an
opportunity to decorate and create a learning environment that displays who they are
as learners.
3) Encourage learners to work together and think as a group by arranging seats into
groupings rather than rows.
4) Have ice-breaker activities at the start of the year.
5) Give learners an opportunity to share stories of their own experiences with other

6) Give learners a way to express concerns, problem solve issues within the class and
discuss what they would like to learn.
7) Give learners a goal to collectively work towards and reward them as a group when
they have achieved that goal
Creative Activities:
Mention online resources are varied and difficult to find.
1) Critical Multicultural Pavilion
a. http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/index.html
b. http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activityarch.html
Getting Started: Respect Activity (Introductory Level)
Ask everyone to find someone in the room who they do not know. Instruct them to
introduce themselves to that person, and spend five to ten minutes talking about
respect. What does it mean for you to show respect, and what does it mean for you to
be shown respect? After the allotted time, ask the participants to return to their seats,
and open the discussion. What ideas did people discuss?
Common responses include the "Golden Rule,"
looking somebody in the eyes,
being honest, and
appreciating somebody's ideas even when you do not agree with them.
Each of these responses offers interesting points of reflection. They each are informed
culturally and hegemonically.
So once people have returned to the big group for processing the activity, be sure to
inquire where people's notions of "respect" come from and who those notions serve
and protect.
Does everybody really want to be treated the way you want to be treated? Is it
respectful in every culture to make eye contact with whomever is speaking? What if
somebody's ideas are oppressive--should we still respect them? And to whose benefit?
It is important to mention that respect is a crucial ingredient in any discussion, but
especially in a discussion of often-controversial issues such as racism, sexism, and
economic injustice. The point is to learn from our differences--to understand each
other's understanding. The point is not to agree. But the point, as well, is to reflect
critically on our assumptions and socializations around the concept of respect.
This activity touches many bases. First, it starts the crucial path toward building a
community of respect. This is the first step in maintaining a constructive exchange
regarding issues related to equity and social justice. At the most basic level,
participants meet someone they did not know and exchange ideas with that person.
Second, the community is built through an understanding of how the group perceives

respect and how we negotiate its meaning. Third, the similarities and differences in
participants' ideas about respect begin to show the first signs of similarities and
differences within the group on a larger level, often in ways that reflect power and
privilege.

2) Show and discuss Diversity Activities for Youth and Adults

3) Visiting Toronto: http://www.toronto.ca/

4) Show TRIBES PROGRAM

Thousands of schools throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and other countries
have become Tribes Learning Communities, safe and caring environments in which kids can
do well! After years of fix-it programs focused on reducing student violence, conflict, drug
and alcohol use, absenteeism, poor achievement, etc., educators and parents now agree,
creating a positive school or classroom environment is the most effective way to improve
behavior and learning. The Tribes TLC process is the way to do it.
Students achieve because they:

feel included and appreciated by peers and teachers

are respected for their different abilities, cultures, gender, interests and dreams

are actively involved in their own learning

have positive expectations from others that they will succeed.

The clear purpose of the Tribes process is to assure the healthy development of every child so
that each one has the knowledge, skills and resiliency to be successful in a rapidly changing
world.
How It Works
Tribes is a step-by-step process to achieve specific learning goals. Four agreements are
honored:

attentive listening

appreciation/no put downs

mutual respect, and

the right to pass

Students learn a set of collaborative skills so they can work well together in long-term groups
(tribes). The focus is on how to:

help each other work on tasks

set goals and solve problems

monitor and assess progress

celebrate achievements.
The learning of academic material and self-responsible behavior is assured because teachers
utilize methods based upon brain-compatible learning, multiple intelligences, cooperative

learning and social development research. The teachers and administrators in a Tribes school
or district also work together in supportive groups. They too enjoy the participatory
democratic process and creative collegiality.