Choice, Privacy & Participation in The Fika Classroom™

• Students may speak.
• Students may listen.
• Students may write or draw.
• Students may use AAC or another communication method.
• Students may work with a partner.
• Students may take additional thinking or processing time.
• Students may use a fictional, general or hypothetical example.
• Students may reflect privately.
• Students may pass.

Educational conversation is not group therapy. Students should not be required to disclose family circumstances, culture, religion, immigration experiences, trauma, interpersonal conflicts, disciplinary incidents or other private information. A lesson should provide a general, fictional, private or school-only alternative when a prompt could otherwise create disclosure pressure.

Listening is not defined by eye contact, stillness, spoken language or rapid response. Accessible listening may include looking away while processing, movement that supports regulation, note-taking, AAC, requesting repetition or additional processing time.

Leadership can be developed through meaningful opportunities without requiring every student to take the same role or lead publicly. Quiet, behind-the-scenes and communication-supported forms of leadership count.

Teachers and other adults remain responsible for safeguarding, intervention, required reporting, accommodations and classroom safety. Students should never be made responsible for solving problems beyond their developmental capacity, authority or safety.

Observe skill practice, access and classroom conditions. Do not grade personality, popularity, emotional openness, friendship, extroversion, confidence, apparent belonging, eye contact or amount of speaking.