Educators should lower students' affective filters by greeting everyone with a smile, providing information in native languages, understanding different cultures' social norms, tying lessons to various cultures, and including diverse cultures in classroom books. This creates a welcoming and safe learning environment for all families.

1. Lowering the Affective Filter By Casey Hester

2. As educators we are faced with a wide variety of cultures in our students and their parents.

3. It is our job to make them feel welcome in our school.

4. In order to make everyone feel welcome, we must lower their affective filters.

5. Greet everyone with a smile.

6. Make sure there are informational signs and forms sent home in native languages (no one should miss out on important information).

7. Know social norms and cues for cultures represented in your classroom. Do some research!

8. Tie lessons to different cultures so that all students learn about different parts of the world. Make sure books in your classroom show a variety of cultures. Students should be able to see people like them in their books.

9. The best way to create a safe learning environment for our families is to lower the affective filter. Thank you!