Interview Questions for Creating Emotionally Safe Schools

We’ve seen so much in the news about violence in schools, yet your book does not focus exclusively on violence prevention. Why is that?

What makes a school an emotionally safe place?

Is this different from being physically safe?

Does being physically safe mean that students—and teachers—will be emotionally safe?

Why is it emotional safety important?

What are some of the things kids do when they don’t feel safe? What is the connection between safety and behavior?
Safety and academic performance?

Many students come to school from troubled families and violent environments. What is the impact of these influences?

When you talk about making schools safe, are you talking about making it easy? Do you mean that we should never challenge, correct or restrict kids?

So many kids are so far behind academically and there is so much pressure on teachers to cover academic content. Isn’t it enough for schools to just teach?

How has the role of the school changed in the past, say, 50 years?

Why is a sense of community important in an academic environment?

You have some concerns about the research which suggests that smaller schools is the answer. Why is that?

You compare many school environments to dysfunctional families. What are some of the similarities?

How can we make schools safe academically?

What’s the best way to deal with failure?

How can we make schools safe behaviorally? (Discipline policies, power dynamics, etc.)

How can we make schools safe socially? (Bully-proofing, social skills development, tolerance and acceptance, etc.)

Some schools have programs dealing with issues like resiliency, character education, self-esteem or emotional intelligence. How are these important?

How can educators and other school personnel help kids in crisis?

What kinds of physical factors impact the emotional climate of a school? (Light, heat, water/bathroom, design, space, environmental toxins, need for movement or interaction, etc.)

What kinds of things compromise the safety of the adults in education?

The picture looks pretty bleak at times, yet you seem optimistic that schools can become places for safety and success. Care to comment?