“Back to School” (Part 1): Creating a Culture of Kindness in the Classroom

Webinar focus: How do we establish a classroom community where everyone is an important and valued member?

About this webinar: CLTV talks with teachers who think carefully about classroom designs—both physical and virtual elements—that support community and empathy building in their classrooms. In partnership with CLTV, Educator Innovator simulcasted these webinars as part of the September CLTV Series curated by Kim Jaxon: “Back to School: Creating the School Year We Want to Live In.”

About the series: In September 2015, we explored the foundational work educators do to make “Back to School” challenging, rewarding, and hopeful. We visited with guests that thought about how classroom design nurtures community, inquiry, and supports students as they come to see themselves as experts who contribute to our learning environments. Guests also shared how they find ways to nurture their own professional growth throughout the busy school year. Each webinar addressed how these foundations and routines are developed beginning with day 1 in the classroom.

Guests for this webinar included:

• Kim Jaxon (host) is an Associate Professor of English/Composition at California State University, Chico and co-director of the Northern California Writing Project. She received her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley in the Language & Literacy, Society & Culture program in the Graduate School of Education.
• Alicia McCauley is a first grade teacher in Northern California and a founding member of Vigilante Kindess, an organization that supports education in developing countries.
• Robbin Jack is a high school teacher in Northern California and a doctoral candidate at UC, Davis in the school of Education.
• Betina Hsieh is an Assistant Professor at CSU, Long Beach who works with future teachers and former co-director of the Bay Area Writing Project.

Resources for this webinar: 

• The Kinder & Braver World Project Research Series Publication: Meanness and Cruelty
• Vigilante Kindness 
• Class Dojo (mentioned in webinar)

Join the conversation on Twitter and Google+ using hashtags #ConnectedLearning #B2S.