| Abstract: | Stories of two students remind teachers that their actions, interactions and responses can encourage students to understand the need for strong, supportive relationships. Scott and Jason needed their teachers to help them find ways to be accepted and develop a confidence in their own identity, ways that helped them find their place on the landscape of their classroom setting. Strategies described here include open classroom discussions about the ways we relate to each other in classrooms, on the playground and in society. Open dialogues and discussions about the way we relate to each other, and about the things we need to feel confident about in relating to each other, can promote the type of relationships in classrooms that create a supportive, accepting atmosphere. |
