Sharing is Caring

I think one of the most difficult things is for a child to feel safe in today's society. And I don't mean physically safe; although that is another topic for another day. I mean safe to share themselves genuinely with the world.
In a society surrounded by social media and other forms of media that tell kids how they SHOULD be or the way they SHOULD behave, it's hard for them to feel comfortable within their own skin. This is why it is important for us as teachers to create a safe, comfortable, and inclusive environment for the students within our own classroom. The classroom is the center of discussion, and if kids do not feel this way within it, discussion will not happen.
In Matthew R. Kay's Not Light, But Fire, he claims "the conversational safe space is established with three discussion guidelines: Listen patiently, listen actively, and police your voice"(Kay, 17). I think incorporating these three guidelines is the first step in creating an environment where your students are comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions.
In an English classroom, the sharing of ideas is very important because most of the time what is being talked about is based upon theory and not facts. Bouncing ideas off one another is how a group can ultimately get down to the fine line of what the author means. However, bouncing these ideas needs to be in an organized fashion so that students are able to say what they want to say while also giving other students the chance to do so in the process.
I remember back in high school, my teachers used to do Socratic seminars to discuss books. However, it was a free for all. They would split the seminar up into two days where half the class would discuss the first day and the other half would discuss the second day which would mean there would be 12-15 kids looking to get their two cents in all at once. If you did not speak at least four times, your grade would be affected. Kids would cut each other off left and right just to get their voice heard. This caused many not to speak at all because of the fear of being cut off. Also because they believed that their view didn't matter.
By establishing within the first few days of school that what a student says matters, it creates a more open aired environment. In Angela Stockman's and Ellen Feig Gray's Hacking School Culture, they claim, "Experience has taught us that students' success and teachers' job satisfaction are necessarily dependent upon an atmosphere of emotional safety and positive social relationships"(Stockman, 8). This is why I think Kay's later idea of putting time aside to talk about students' personal lives is such a good idea. It builds a community within the classroom. It brings students closer together and it gives the teacher an idea of who their students are.
Making your students feel validated and accepted within the space they reside in is the first step in creating a classroom where discussion flows naturally.