School spirit is about sports, music, science teams and cheer leading and camaraderie. It is about wearing school colors and displaying pennants and shouting from the rooftops. But it is also about academics and student growth and diversity. School spirit is incorporated into a positive school culture. Students and teachers are proud of their school and show it through participation, social media, and word of mouth. A community often revolves around its local schools and when the school embodies a supportive, respectful climate then the neighborhood is more likely to respond.
A classroom spirit encompasses much of the same ideals: Academic success, cooperation, collaboration, open-dialogue, respect, eagerness to learn, student-centered, flexible, independent thinking, relevance and most important student interest. An authentic, active classroom revolves around student choice, not a teachers demands. It is designed around options for demonstration of knowledge and innovation. When a classroom has a positive outlook, safety to explore and fail, and equality, then a classroom is thriving.
Classroom spirit should not be focused merely on the success of the few but on the community as a whole. Every student needs to feel apart of the collective. To have a voice they feel safe to use. To have opportunities to be successful but also chances to struggle and find true grit and rigor to become stronger learners. When students feel compelled to do well because it brings the class together, then classroom spirit has been achieved.
I celebrate every class individually on Twitter and my blog. I spark some competition by sharing class averages as a whole and this drives them to a healthy level of determination and motivation. Every class is unique and I let them know how creative and fun they are individually every day. I spark curiosity through inquiry and problem-solving but allow them to carve their path, to find what works best for them. When students feel valued and invested in their learning they will not sink into complacency but rise above it to be participants in their own learning.
School spirit ignites, classroom spirit enhances and fans the flames that make a school a positive and encouraging place to learn and grow. Having a choice in extra-curricular activities brings the school together, forms a strong united environment. Having choices in demonstration of knowledge provides that same enthusiasm in the classroom setting. Let students find their voice and what works best for them. Then as a class let them determine their own course. This leads to classroom spirit and unity.
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