Scenario:

Yesterday I was approached by a student who I recalled having in class a few years ago. The student asked if I could write a letter of recommendation for a college application. I agreed but was curious about why I was asked, since the student was not very talkative in the class and our interactions were limited to the one semester. The student replied that they never got to know many of their other teachers and had really liked my class. The student's request made me wonder how many other students go through their time in school without forming relationships with teachers, advisors, or mentors.

Response:

As students get older, they often distance themselves from those in authority, and loneliness has become a serious issue on college campuses. In a 2017 survey of nearly 48,000 college students, 64% said they had felt “very lonely” in the previous 12 months, while only 19% reported they never felt lonely, according to the American College Health Association. Several of the factors cited for college students also impact younger students. According to the UnLonely Project, some of the contributing factors include increased isolation due to social media use, more students with pre-existing mental health conditions, and the stigmas associated with admitting to depression or loneliness. This research has also has shown that students of color are more likely to feel isolated on campus than white students (46% vs 30%), and first generation college students are more susceptible to loneliness. Helping students understand how to create and be part of a community and talking about the importance of making connections with both peers and mentors can benefit students as the move into new situations, like attending a new school or transitioning from middle to high school or from high school to college.

Fostering community starts from the first communication you have with the student and is ideally consistent with a broader culture at your school. This Edutopia article "10 Powerful Community-Building Ideas: Strategies for ensuring that students in every grade feel like they’re part of the classroom community" outlines practical suggestions that can be implemented throughout the year for students at various levels, and many of these suggestions could be transitioned to the virtual classroom as well, but that space does present some of its own challenges. In another article from Eductopia published earlier this year called "Fostering a Strong Community in a Virtual Classroom: The shift to working online requires teachers to think a little differently about how to build the culture they want with their students" and in this article from PBS "5 Virtual Ways to Build a Classroom Community," you will find some other practical suggestions to leverage the affordances of this new platform while working to counterbalance its shortcomings as you move through the year.

Community is reinforced or undermined by what happens in class everyday, but it is about more than what happens in the classroom. Looking for opportunities to students to join groups that they identify with is important. This can take the form of sports teams for some students, but it is helpful to offer groups based on interests and hobbies. The goal here is to help students find and connect with communities where they can be themselves, even as they discover new communities and opportunities that take them beyond their familiar. In addition to clubs and other student organizations at Virginia Tech, our Cultural and Community Centers provide social spaces for students who are underrepresented because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity to make these kinds of connections. Groups like these can allow students with shared identities to build community without fear of discrimination or the pressure to code switch in order to fit in.

One other topic related to building community that we want to mention briefly is bullying. Building community and avoiding bullying both involve promoting empathy and helping students understand both how they connect with their peers and how their peers may see the world differently. Teaching Tolerance has put together some helpful resources that you can draw from to address Bullying & Bias in your classroom. We would recommend starting with "Bullying Basics" for an overview of the topic as well as some strategies to fight bullying and identify when it is happening.

Resources:

"Get Present: Build Community and Connectedness Online" (2012) by Amy Garrett Dikkers, Aimee Whiteside, and Somer Lewis,

"Examining Your School's Climate"

Teaching Tolerance Learning Plans about building community

Teaching Tolerance: Bullying & Bias

"Identifying and Responding to Bias Incident"

Credits: Created by Julia Feerrar & Kayla B. McNabb and based on materials originally created by Dr. Michele C. Deramo, Assistant Provost of Diversity Education and Programs at Virginia Tech.