‘People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’ ― Theodore Roosevelt.
If you think back to the teachers you had who really influenced you in a positive way and had an impact on your learning, you will probably not remember the content of what they taught you. What you will remember is the way they treated you, how you felt in their class and the types of interactions you had.
It’s absolutely true that building strong relationships with students can help them develop academically and socially.
When you build relationships in the classroom, students work harder, behavioral issues disappear, and school becomes a much happier place – for student and teacher.
Spend some time with a student
Spending one-on-one time with students, especially those who struggle with behavioural issues is very crucial. In large classrooms, in particular, students often feel lost and that their voices aren’t heard. During one-on-one time, a student has the teacher’s full attention. Ask a student about their family, what’s going on in their life, how they’re feeling about the work in the class. When we foster a stronger connection, students are almost always less likely to act out in class after these meetings.
Look for a positive comment
Another strategy is the two-by-ten approach. This involves a teacher having a personal conversation with a student about something the student is interested in for just two minutes every day. Something as simple as commenting on a student’s clothing can open a door to a relationship. Remarking on their interests can lead to an easy conversation. Talk to them about their favourite sports team, or ask questions about their icon in life. Even the smallest detail can help you build strong relationships with your students.
Show interest in their interests
Understanding and learning about any student’s interest or favourite activity can help you build relationships. Today’s students have many interests and hobbies. When you show students that you respect their extracurricular interests by learning and asking questions about them, you can build strong and meaningful connections with hard-to-reach kids.
Share your experiences
Storytelling is one of the easiest ways to connect with students. They love hearing about previous year students who sat at the same desks where they sit now. Often use stories about your own educational struggles to help the students see how important it is to persevere. Sharing such experiences with students helps them understand that challenges are just part of the journey to success.
Add a sense of humour
Humour can go a long way toward tearing down walls and building classroom solidarity. Students need to laugh, and you can have fun while still maintaining strong classroom management. Being able to laugh at yourself, making jokes, and using light-hearted sarcasm in the classroom helps you build relationships with students. Then students adore such teachers. Playing games can also be enjoyable. There’s no reason for fun and learning to be mutually exclusive.
Attend student events
The tried-and-true way of building relationships with students is to attend their events. Students love seeing their teacher at their sporting events, speech and debate competitions, and drama productions. This also gives you something to talk about. You can say, “Wow, that goal you scored in the game was unbelievable!” or “Your performance on the school day was outstanding.” You can create an instant bond by showing respect for your students’ extracurricular activities.
As teachers we have the power to influence and shape young minds. The way we do this is by giving our time and energy in a way that is meaningful to them.
