students who undermine such spaces are viewed as troublemakers, and to mete out appropriate discipline, we pull from our bag of behavior modification tactics. Meanwhile, familiar classroom hierarchies and interactions remain stubbornly visible—outspoken kids still dominate conversation, and students remain disagreeable when they disagree. This, of course, frustrates us. Why won’t students share in our utopian vision? Did they not hear us? They did. However, for most students, a teacher’s safe space designation doesn’t mean much.
