In addition to the standard itself, some of the subcategories of this standard are very important as well: teachers treat all students fairly and establish an environment that is respectful, supportive, and caring; teachers motivate students to work productively and assume responsibility for their own learning; and teachers create learning situations in which students work independently, collaboratively, and/or as a whole class.  Students should always feel safe and comfortable when they come into the classroom, or school in general.  If a student is comfortable in a classroom, then they are more willing to participate in class and will not be embarrassed if they have to ask a question.  If all the students are comfortable in the classroom, then group presentations become an option for assessment.  The students will feel comfortable presenting in front of everyone.  Students have so much information thrown at them every day in school, that if they are worried, nervous, or do not feel safe in school, they will very quickly fall behind and not reach their full potential in the classroom.

    I will demonstrate Standard 5 various different ways in my classroom.  I want my students to be comfortable with each other and be able to work together with anyone on their homework.  I could assign groups for them to work in during class when they have time to work on math problems.  I would change the members of the group every once in a while to make sure that everyone learns to work well with the rest of the class.  I would want to use cooperative learning and pair-share learning often in my class as well.  I want students to be able to share their ideas with partners or small groups first, so that they are comfortable and confident enough to share their ideas or their partner’s ideas with the rest of the class.  A personal goal for myself is to make the students comfortable enough that they can come to me anytime during or outside of class if they are struggling with a problem or have any questions in class.  I never want to make a student feel like I do not like them and would not want to help them; I want students to know that I care equally for all of them and will do anything to help them succeed.