In the adult education classroom, where people come from a variety of ethnic, economic and social backgrounds, it is important to create an environment where all students have the opportunity to learn. In order to do this, one must create a safe space.<\/p>\n

According to advocates for youth, a safe space is \u201cA place where anyone can relax and be fully self-expressed, without fear of being made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe on\u00a0account\u00a0of\u00a0biological sex,\u00a0race\/ethnicity, sexual,\u00a0gender identity\u00a0or\u00a0expression,\u00a0cultural background,\u00a0age, or\u00a0physical\u00a0or mental ability; a place where the rules guard each person’s\u00a0self-respect\u00a0and\u00a0dignity\u00a0and strongly encourage everyone to\u00a0respect\u00a0others.\u201d If a student feels as if they cannot be themselves or that they are at risk of being hurt, their learning experience will be hindered since their focus will be elsewhere. It goes back to Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy of needs, if someone feels that they are in danger, their concern isn\u2019t going to be learning math.<\/p>\n

Several organizations, such as System for Adult Basic Education Support,<\/a> have chosen to be a resource when teachers ask questions such as \u201cWhat do I say when a slur comes up in my class?\u201d or \u201cWhen and how do I introduce anti-oppression, or \u201cteaching tolerance,\u201d materials into my curriculum?\u201d\u00a0Teachers feel that they need more dialogue and discussion to better understand and respond to controversial and uncomfortable topics. So why is it that we are focused on silence?<\/p>\n

Remaining silent about issues might ease the class by preventing confrontation, but it does not lead to a safe environment for students. As a teacher, you should use inclusive language and challenge any slur you hear in the classroom<\/a>. Use it as an opportunity for learning. Be open to all sorts of differences amongst your students and make sure everyone has the opportunity to learn. Other things you can do include diversifying your curriculum, provide appropriate health care education that applies to different genders, races and sexual orientation, and be a role model by condemning discrimination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the adult education classroom, where people come from a variety of ethnic, economic and social backgrounds, it is important to create an environment where all students have the opportunity to learn. In order to do this, one must create Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1127,9,1122],"tags":[38,1130,1131],"class_list":["post-1127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adult-ed","category-professional-development","category-resources","tag-adult-education","tag-teachers","tag-tutors"],"yoast_head":"\r\n