While all communities have boundaries, it is really important to me that we don't create boundaries within the classroom; that we don't marginalize students who are struggling. I do not want one student held up in contrast to another, which so often creates a sense of competition rather than community.
If we start from a place where we believe that we are all doing the best that we can, it can help eliminate tendencies toward judgment that can run rampant and get exploited in poorly-functioning or ill-conceived communities. Rather than criticize or blame, here we remember that yes, we are each doing the best we can and, for whatever reason, sometimes that includes messing up or making poor choices. In this way, I don't have to feel compelled to chastise students for small transgressions in order to make everyone feel like I am the guardian of rules and safety. Instead, they will be comforted by my role as guardian of their well-being. This isn't to say that discipline won't happen, because it certainly will when needed. But the general feeling in our room will be one of support and problem solving instead of nagging and criticizing.
To drive this point home, I have created here a few affirmations for class that capitalize on the sound similarity of peur (fear) and erreur (error).
Je n'ai pas peur de faire des erreurs.
(I am not afraid of making errors.)
J'apprends par l'erreur.
(I learn by making errors.)
La peur de l'erreur n'existe pas ici.
(Fear of errors does not exist here.)
In constructing our world, we will also be constructing boundaries, both articulated and silent; this is something to think about a bit. How to balance the boundaries needed for school success with the ones that feel right to students as individuals, and how to convey these in such a way that our students understand and value them. From something as simple as establishing or revealing boundaries between when it is and is not ok to joke around, to something as far-reaching as the idea that by buying into being an active community member, you are setting a boundary between yourself and someone who is looking to distract from or work against the community. I merely ask that you consider the implications of what you do in the community you are creating, so that you may consciously explore the boundaries that do exist without creating unintended boundaries for your students.
