How to Build Positive Relationships with Students8 Ways to Build a Positive Relationship
with Students
To be sure,
most teachers already do an outstanding job of building relationships with
their students. They see value in it and are intent on building positive
relationships and ensuring students have positive feedback about them, their
classmates, and the class as a whole. However, some teachers will occasionally
tell me that they know that building relationships with students is important,
but they “don’t have the time” to do what we suggest to build relationships.
However, you really do not have time! If students like your class, they will
follow directions more accurately, work harder, interact with each other, and
generally enjoy working.
First, keep in
mind that most of these should never be necessary for students if the goal is
to build positive vibrations between the student and the teacher or the class
as a whole.
To be fair, it
is enough to be yourself, show empathy, treat students with respect and take a
real interest in their lives. However, sometimes a little “fake” can help here
and there, especially with challenging classes.
Regardless, we
are always looking for some new ideas. Give them a try and let me know how they
go!
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Relationship Quotes of Robyn L. Gobin |
Often, students, especially those who are marginalized, feel
invisible in our school. Talent student and their identity by learning names
quickly and pronouncing them correctly. Use nicknames only if students like
them; Never create a nickname for a student, as it takes away the identity of
him or her with an embedded name. Every year on the first day of school, I make
tents for my students and pronounce my name correctly for them. I often
practice pronouncing their names. I took the name tents in hand and finished each
class period until I learned all the names of the students. I greet each of my
students by name before class.
2. Students are never too old to show-to-tell.
Help students feel more than just another student by allowing them to bring in something they enjoy at the beginning of the year, their culture or something that presents an activity. Plan five to 10 minutes each day to share what a few students have brought until you give everyone in the class a chance. In my class, students brought pictures of their kids, goggles for their competitive swimming team, and souvenirs from family vacations.
Learn More: How to Build Strong Relationships with Colleagues
3. Post pictures of students and work of students.
Elementary teachers are very good at sharing work with students, but middle and high school teachers often neglect this important practise because they feel it is unnecessary for older students. I still need to remind adult students that you value their work when my students participate in a show-to, for example, I snap a picture of them. Those pictures are then printed and posted on the bulletin board in the classroom throughout the year. Students like how they have changed over the years because they understand that their growth and development is not only physical but also intellectual and sensitive. In addition, students are proud when their exemplary work, such as individual math projects and group work in math works, is displayed and celebrated.
4. Allocate seats and change them often:
We all know that high school students don't always come together,
but when students get a chance to work together, they learn about each other
and discover ways to work together even if they are different. I want my
students to sit at tables in my middle school math classroom. I assign each of
them to a table of three or four students; They then change seats once a week
using an online random seat changer embedded in our attendance management
system. After each change, students answer a quick question, such as, "Who
would you like to have dinner with and why?" To become more acquainted with the individuals at their table before teaming up with them on math labour for seven days.
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Relationship Quotes of Harold Duarte-Bernhardt |
In my first-period class, we often get circle time on Monday
mornings or after breaks. We stand in a circle and pass near a ball. The person
with the ball shares the compliment of the other person in the circle, what
they did on the weekend or break, or why they are feeling right now. Once a
student took part in a friend’s birthday weekend with the addition of a goat.
We were all intrigued to see pictures of him walking on a goat’s back during a
yoga class! My students always remind me if I forget the Monday circle time.
They also always insist that I share. While this may seem like every minute
through academic content, I have learned that investing five minutes once a
week to learn about each other is invaluable to my students and builds an
enhanced culture in my classroom.
6. Listen simply:
As teachers, we often feel we need to maintain a professional
distance from our students but I have found that taking the time to have small
conversations helps reduce learning barriers. Since I have made myself
accessible, some of my students will tell me about their life story for five
minutes in class. Stop what I am doing, see through their eyes and listen. As
soon as they tell me these stories I see their eyes dazzled and these faces
always give me a little more knowledge about them as people.
All students deserve adults in their school who
care enough about them to be willing to build positive relationships that give
them room for mistakes and learning. If we truly expect our students to learn
from us, they need to know that we care about them. They also need the
opportunity to learn about each other, so that they can build a community where
they grow up learning together.
Learn More: The Importance of Relationships in Your Life
7. Join their extra-curricular activities:
Remember what you were most interested in as a
student? It was probably extra-curricular or CO-curricular activities, not
“curriculum”. Whether it was sports, singing, bands, debates, theatre, quiz
bowls or any other activity the students were interested in. Show them and stay
visible, interact with other students while you're there, and then make it a
point to talk to students about the event, especially if you're responding
positively (don't coach or criticize, that won't help you).
8. Games:
Creating stupid games in your classroom culture
is so easy and effective, it’s almost deceptive. Seriously, I had "Friday
Games Day" for a while, only students would work so hard and throughout
the week if they were told "if we don't get. we're not going to be able to
play games on Friday" or "we If we hope to have fun on Friday, we
don't use it with people. "
Did you know that kids have been obsessed with the “bottle flip” challenge thing for a while? Embrace it - spend five or ten minutes a week encouraging everyone to play in your class. The only pre-learning expectations are that "If we can't keep bottles (games, etc.) away and focus on learning when we need to, I guess we won't be able to do it anymore. It will usually do the trick. For your classroom." Need some more "game" ideas?
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