This blog post is serving double duty. I’m linking up with Jasmine over at Buzzing with Mrs. McClain for her You Oughta Know blog hop. I am also posting the second topic in a series about teaching in low income communities.
The first lesson without a doubt is getting to know your students. This is probably a “duh,” but I wanted to include it just in case (wink, wink). Knowing students means not only their interests, but also what motivates them, how they receive feedback, things that anger them. Below are a few of my favorite resources to use to get to know your students.
Other Ideas: Attend an extracurricular event, do a home visit, eat lunch with students
I purposefully used the term “influencers” versus “parent” because in my experience I’ve found it helpful to know the adults that students look up to. That might be a previous teacher, extracurricular coach, older sibling, community leader and/or everyone in between. When I prioritize getting to know the people who know the people who are important to my students, it proves that I care, and provides another support link for students. SHAMEFUL PLUG- I’ll be doing a full blog on “Working With Stakeholders” that will include resources…I hope you come back.
When students feel valued as individuals and connected to a community, it provides the framework for a strong classroom culture. A safe and nurturing classroom is something that is intentionally built and maintained by the classroom teacher. From rules and procedures, to the classroom layout and student pairings… EVERYTHING BUILDS (or destroys) CLASSROOM CULTURE. Below are a few resources to assist with building relationships and creating a safe class.
Personal relationships with students take time…and consistency. A lack of consistency creates a slippery slope when it comes to building trust filled relationships with students. Students have to know teacher expectations and these have to be followed through every time…without fail. I tend to think of my relationships with students as flowers… they need consistent sunlight and water.
The final thing you OUGHTA KNOW is that building relationships is hard and time consuming. The most difficult thing in my experience was that many of students have many different layers of protection around who they were, which makes it difficult to open up. I own the times when I stopped trying (please don’t judge me). That said, hindsight is a gift. Looking back, I’ve built stronger skin and have changed my orientation towards relationship building. This can be summed up in one of my favorite Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quotes, “The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.”As it relates to relationships, I believe that enduring through adversity and humbling myself in service of my kids and community is what has enabled me to build strong relationships and networks.
I’d love to hear how others approach building relationships.
“I believe that education is the civil rights issue of our generation. And if you care about promoting opportunity and reducing inequality, the classroom is the place to start. Great teaching is about so much more than education; it is a daily fight for social justice.” ~ Secretary Arne Duncan, October 9, 2009 I became…
About five years go, I started piecing together elements of my classroom community that I saw as critical components. I was doing a “ten-year stepback.” This reflection spotlighted activities and discussions that occurred within and outside the curriculum. One of the most significant components that surfaced involved how identity development shaped middle school experiences….
When thinking about student voice in my classroom a few things come to mind. The biggest and most important (in my opinion) is the agency students have over their educational experience, and how they are valued as members of our classroom community. While I am the instructional leader of my classroom, my students are the…
A few days ago, I posted some reflections about the book Teach Like a Champion on Instagram. My post reflected years of dissecting and re-evaluating my experience with using the techniques. To be clear, I was once a teacher who held this book in high regard, but in the words of the late Dr….
Y’all realize you can’t buy #antiracism, right? – Tiffany Jewell There’s something about the current times that has me in my feelings and my mind more than usual. About a week ago, Tiffany Jewell (support her on Patreon) posted “Y’all realize you can’t buy #antiracism, right?” on Twitter. At first read, I nodded my head…
I told my 4th grade teacher that I wanted to be Oprah when I grow up. This was before Oprah was OPRAH, OWN Network, and the O Magazine. This was when (to me) she was simply the “black lady on tv everyday.” I vividly recall my teacher giggling and noting, “You can’t be that, pick…
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