How school culture and attitude affects learning

In order for students to learn effectively, they need to be in a safe and supported environment. This is a goal for many educators, but sometimes it doesn’t come to fruition. Sometimes this is because the class is run by an inexperienced teacher, inconsistency in school schedules, a global pandemic, or because of issues with school culture.

Although teachers can be a strong influence on students, their peers often hold more power than we give them credit for. They can control and influence the vibe or attitude of a class in a good way or in a bad way. Especially in middle school when students are extremely aware of what other people are thinking of them, they will be inclined to stick with the popular crowd and the majority, even if it isn’t what they really want to be doing.

Teachers may unconsciously contribute to a negative school culture by letting their stress affect their work. I am a teacher myself, and I know from experience that it is difficult to keep emotions out of the job. We went into teaching because we love the content, love the students, or both. So when you have a job involving so much you care about, it is hard to keep emotions out of it. This is good most of the time, but can also influence it in a bad way.

Teachers have a lot on their plates, and there are many issues with the education system. But until then, and even when change happens, teachers have a responsibility to take care of their mental and physical health. Even if this means, in my opinion, all of your work not getting done. I would rather be in a solid mental state for a day of work than tired and burnt out with beautifully prepared teaching materials.

Teacher culture also influences the students. Students are smart, and they can tell when a teacher truly cares about their class and material, or if they are just doing it because they have to. Interactions between teachers in front of students tell them information about their attitudes towards each other and the school.

If the overall school culture isn’t conducive to learning, then the students who are there to learn will struggle and be frustrated. They speak out and complain when other students in the class are disrupting the learning process. When these students are the minority, they don’t have the power to change the class attitude, even when the teacher is on their side.

Another influence on school culture is the overall culture of the country and the culture of families at home. These two strongly influence children and how they act at school. If we want to work on making school a more consistently safe and stable environment, we have to help the surrounding communities and families. If we help students feel safe at home, they will be motivated to bring that feeling of safety to school, and vice versa.

I hope as a culture and community in America, we can learn to respect and value education more, so our students and children have a warm attitude towards learning and growing into better people.

All of this is spoken from my personal experience and mindset as it currently is today. This might change in the future.