Creating a safe place in which to learn is vital to providing all students with equal opportunity. The Caring Classroom is a model for using adventure techniques to create a classroom community. It begins at the formation stage of group development by addressing cooperation issues such as using put-ups instead of put-downs, using active listening, and being able to work with anyone in the class. Along with ice-breaker activities to facilitate inclusion, a set of ground rules should be established that commit everyone to the physical and emotional safety of each person in the group. Challenge by Choice lets students feel safe in a community by allowing them to control their level of participation within the school structure. Choices about how a certain concept will be learned enable students to best meet their own learning styles. Next, the teacher uses trust building and goal-setting activities to help students explore such issues as making mistakes, trustworthiness, and risk taking, which are vital to creating a safe community. Once they have grappled with cooperation and trust, students can proceed to problem-solving initiatives that help them work through issues of decision making, leadership, and conflict resolution. Finally, a class reaches a point of closeness whereby, with the support of the community, students are ready to begin the learning process without reservation. (TD)