Building Relationships

Excellence in Education: Building Relationships 

It's about relationships. At the heart of our mission are the relationships we create with our students. As a first-year teacher I remember being told to be a firm disciplinarian, to establish my authority as a firm dictator. Perhaps you were told, "Don't smile until November," "Don't let students see your weakness," or "Never show emotion." 

So on my first day, I listed rule after rule after rule. You can't do this, this or this. Then I laid out the consequences--well let's be real, the punishments. The endless listing of rules continued; the students were only saved by the bell. Of course, within days, students saw right by my facade. In due time I became more comfortable sharing personal stories, my enthusiasm with their learning, and at times my disappointments with their lack of progress. 

I know this isn’t rocket science, but science does prove that student-teacher relationships are one of the most important influences on student achievement. In Visible Learning, John Hattie’s research ranks student-teacher relations as #9 out of #138 influences.

Some simple every day steps:

•  Greeting students at the door
•  Pre-do now: As students enter your classroom post a picture or a message about you. Possible postings: Last night I went to...I made xyz for dinner last night...A personal goal of yours...I feel great about myself because I met my goal of losing 5 pounds last summer. 
•  Create activities that will help you relate to your students 
• 2x10 : Choose your most challenging student and talk to them every day for 10 consecutive days for 2 minutes each day. Make the talk about something non-school related. This one might take a little time away from “instruction,” but the rewards are worth it.

Most of these activities take away from class time. What they will do, however, is create meaningful and lasting relationships with your students. And isn't that why we became teachers? Soon students will seek you out after class to share their own experiences, their own success and failures and to simply talk. As you open up to them, they’ll open up to you.

So please ask yourself, "Do I know enough about each of my students to teach them?" 

Administrative Notes

Positive Referral Link: http://goo.gl/s0KXRB

Work Order Request Form: http://goo.gl/H7hFwK

Comment Box: http://goo.gl/forms/KAHNoGf5D2

Some upcoming dates:

April 18: Prom

April 30: Honor Breakfast (Top Decile)

May 17: Scholarship Banquet

May 18: Senior Picnic

May 26/27: Now sent in stone: Senior Exams

May 29 @ 6pm: Graduation

May 29 (full day) and  June 1: Exams (as it stands now)

Some upcoming edcamps (opt-out credit can be earned):

February 21: Edcamp NOVA (Ashburn): I’m registered but unable to go because I’ll be at another conference http://edcampnova.org/  Because of the snow, this event has been rescheduled! I’ll let you know the details as they become available.

March 21: Edcamp Arlington http://edcamparlington.org/

                    Edcamp RVA (Richmond)

April 18: Edcamp Delaware (Wilmington)

Still waiting for more info about Edcamp MetroDC and Edcamp95 (Virginia/Prince William maybe)

What I’m Reading

Marissa Meyer, Google VP, 9 Principles of Innovation : Not an education article, but a lot of this pertains to what we should strive for in our classrooms

Recent High School Grads Are Not Prepared for College or Career

Do Your Students Talk AT Each Other or WITH Each Other

 

Quote of the Week

Dylan Wiliam: If we create a culture where every teacher believes they need to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better, there is NO limit to what we can achieve.