Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/supporting-teachers-to-create-a-culture-of-non-violence/5010252/
Nearly every teacher in an early childhood classroom can tell you firsthand about violence in children's lives. Whether it's from watching children's play or hearing them talk about the violence they fear or witness, teachers have daily evidence of the deterioration of community and devaluing of life that defines our social fabric. The impact this has on children's behaviors easily brings teachers to the point of tears, harsh and punitive responses, or the search for a new, less stressful job.Without a doubt, teachers have a critical role to play in countering the impact of violence on children, but they can't fulfill this role without adequate training and support. It's unfair to suggest that workshops on discipline techniques and behavior management will address the consuming stress that engulfs the lives of children and their teachers. Something far more profound is required.
In the early childhood classroom, violence prevention means a careful examination of the environment, language, and routines that make up daily life together. "Places are spaces charged with meaning," Jim Greenman reminds us. Our environments and routines must not only keep children safe but emotionally, aesthetically, and spiritually nourish them.
If, as Greenman says, "physical space regulates ...