I've had the privilege in visiting dozens and dozens of schools over the last ten years. And I can tell you that climate is a very real thing. You know instantly if a school is a pleasant space to be and whether you would be willing to work there. I realize that doesn't sound very scientific. That's because it isn't. It's very affective based, but real nonetheless.
I recently posted about my Dear Principal project this year. As I visit more and more buildings, it is interesting to see the climate reflected in the data I collect and represent. One school, which I would not have identified as having all that positive of a climate, had the largest number of student to adult interactions. Kids were incredibly friendly. Many of them readily struck up a relaxed conversation with me---and I had a great time chatting with them. It was a very pleasant surprise. And then another school turned out to be not that way. Remember, for this first round of data collection, I am documenting the number of smiles I see. In this particular school, I made two rounds through the classrooms...and I only found one instance of a kid smiling at another kid. One. The number of other interactions was also depressingly small. No joy in Mudville, my friends. But there could be any number of explanations: time of day, length of my visit, or even chance.
Now that I'm nearly done with my first round with schools (we have 10 schools and my goal is to do three post cards for each this year), I'm starting to notice some other trends and ponder other ways to collect and represent data about schools. While I am asking principals for what they wish people knew about their schools, here are some things I'd like to pay attention to:
- How often to teachers talk to girls in their classrooms and what is the nature of these interactions?
- How often are their words of praise or encouragement?
- Where do students of colour sit in the classroom (especially with relationship to the teacher desk)?