As we strive to help all students experience a sense of belonging within our school community, we need to be mindful of students’ perceptions of our school climate. It is their perception that will propel their actions. When students perceive that specific groups or individuals are granted special handling and privilege, a sense of unfairness and bitterness toward individuals and the school is fostered. We know that a number of school shooters have harbored such grievances against a world or school community that they perceived as unfair and unwelcoming to them.
When we listen to our students, they will be more likely to come to us when they need help or are concerned about others. Sometimes, we inadvertently train students that it is not safe or effective to tell an adult when something is wrong or when they are concerned about someone’s behavior. With good intentions and the desire to help our students become self-sufficient and capable of navigating relationships, we instruct them to work it out on their own. Perhaps we remind them to practice the skills they’ve learned through a prevention curriculum like Steps to Respect or Second Step. Or, we perceive their conflict as minor and believe they will be best served by practicing the skill of discerning which battles are worth fighting and which are best ignored.
Unfortunately, when we don’t listen and act on concerns, students learn not to tell us, and more importantly, not to trust us. When we later struggle to motivate students to break the code of silence in middle or high school, we may find it difficult to undo the learning that has taken place over time, when we told our students to stop tattling or that they need to work things out on their own. The best way to combat this is to train staff to listen and follow through on all student concerns, starting with pre-K and continuing through high school.
Student perception of school climate also affects whether students report concerns or threats to adults. According to the 2008 bystander study commissioned by the U. S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education (Pollack, W. S., Modzeleski, W. & Rooney, G.), when students perceived that their concerns would not be taken seriously, or that they would get in trouble if they told an adult, they failed to report events as serious as the knowledge that a peer had brought a weapon onto school property.
Do you want to know how your students perceive your school's climate? A great place to start is to talk with your administration about administering a school climate survey to students, staff, and parents in your school community. For some excellent surveys, options check out this compendium of school climate surveys from Safe Supportive Learning.