Building Positive Relationships

Positive culture in the classroom is one of the most important elements of teaching.  A lot of times I find that a majority of students have a fear or dislike of math (shocking!).  The first few weeks of school I stress to my students that it is ok that math may not be their favorite subject but my goal is that they will love something they do in my classroom by the end of the year.  I also tend to hear self put downs in my room and remind students that it’s ok to struggle with something, and show them what they are capable of.  I notice that keeping a positive environment in the math classroom allows students to take more risks or recognize that it is ok to ask for help.  One of my main strategies is to call on students who may not volunteer, knowing that their answer will be correct, in order to boost their confidence.  I remind students that we all make mistakes and that I will make plenty of mistakes as I’m teaching; it’s a part of life.  As this happens, especially at the beginning of the year, I notice that students gain more trust to know that everyone makes mistakes, even the teacher.  The more that I can show them that it is ok to take risks and I’ll support them, the more comfortable they become with math and sometimes change their opinion that math is no longer scary.