That is exactly what I thought. I wanted the movie teacher moment like Mr. Holland's Opus where all his students come back to show what he meant to them, or like the TV show Glee's moment where the students TO SIR WITH LOVE to Mr. Shu. All my kids would love me, would love what I was teaching and wouldn't complain at things. Boy, was I wrong. This is one lesson I would love for brand new teachers understand. Students not liking the lesson or not "liking" you is not personal. They need a connection.
The educational cliché "students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" is very true.
If we want to make an impact on the lives of our students, we must gain their trust. We must do things that build a relationship with the student. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying do things that make you the "popular" teacher. I am saying that you need to do things to show the kids you care and that you are invested in them. The graphic above that comes from Aaron Hogan's blog on his website, http://afhogan.com/credibility/ . This gives some great ways to build trust or as Aaron says credibility. Get to know your students! Find things that your kids love and build those into your lessons. Ask questions about their sports, music, art, dance, 4-H, or whatever else they are involved in. The biggest for me....BE PRESENT. Attend events. This shows you care about them outside of school as much as inside.
I am getting ready for year 17 as an educator and my 4th as a middle school counselor. I had one of our 8th grade students, who could be labeled as one of our frequent discipline issues, tell me that he respected me because I would listen to him and would talk to him with respect not like others in the building. That meant a lot.
This comment made me think of the importance of relationships. This graphic from @D4Griffen3 on twitter hits it out of the park. This is exactly what the student was experiencing in multiple classes. I would like to say that my interactions helped his behavior, but it didn't in those rooms. I could get him to de-escalate, but certain teachers could set him off.
I am not blaming the teachers for all of the issue. They tried things and it didn't work. But the student did not feel like the trust was their to build a desired relationship.
Students want to feel accepted and understood. It is our job as educators to try to find that bridge. We cannot always do that, but we need to do everything in our power to try. Building trust doesn't happen all of a sudden. It happens over time. It is consistently showing students you care and not always being on your terms. It takes more than one game or one conversation. It takes nurturing. The more you nurture and care for the relationships with your students the more you will see their effort and attitude change for what you ask them to do. Be genuine! Students can tell when you are not and are just feeding them a line of something.
Education is more than just teaching content. It is giving students the desire to keep learning as they go through life. If you want to make the biggest impact on students, build and nurture your relationships. Jimmy Casas (@casas_jimmy) says it so well in the graphic below...
I will close with 2 graphics and a charge from Adam Welcome, #runlap @mradamwelcome, his book RUN LIKE A PIRATE will be released in July, and Ryan Sheehy, @sheehyrw, whose book BE THE ONE FOR KIDS is available for purchase.
Make a difference!! #BETHEONE
No comments:
Post a Comment