Creating a Safe, Supportive Math Classroom
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to illustrate some ways in which mathematics teachers can help to create a secure, supportive classroom environment in which the pupils learn to not fear failure and to value making mistakes as an opportunity to learn and grow. Each section begins with a quotation from the Sathya Sai Education in Human Values programme, a world-wide, secular programme designed to support the integration of values education across the curriculum. The sources of these quotations have not specifically been acknowledge because they appear in similar form in many different places, but the quotations have been printed in italics. More details about these ideas are discussed in my book 'Education in Human Values Through Mathematics, Mathematics Through Education in Human Values'.
