Positive Relationships

Positive relationships begin the very first day of school in my classroom. I work to know all of the students' names within the first week or so of school by playing "getting to know you activities". Additionally, ELA students' first project was a museum display all about them. This was a wonderful way for them to explain their interests and abilities.

Building a relationship with your students is extremely important because there needs to be a certain level of trust between student and teacher. I've found that students are more likely to put forth their best effort when we have established that initial level of trust.

I currently do several of the strategies that were mentioned in the articles and videos. For example, I try to say hello to each student as they enter the door. One of my favorite sayings is "Happy A day Friday" on a Thursday or "Happy Friday Eve." This normally makes the student pause and then giggle after they figure out what I mean. At the beginning of every year,  I also try to get information from their parents that is beneficial to me in the classroom. I have a questionnaire that goes home with my syllabus which invites parents to tell me a little about their child's personality and learning style. Often this helps me with seating arrangements, etc. One of the takeaways I had from this month's  reading was "trusting" my students. I am still working on this with many of my students. I like the suggestion of telling the student that you initially did trust them to do something, but that they violated that trust when they acted inappropriately.  I will work on doing this in my classroom.