This post can apply to any subject and is one that I think is one of the most important aspects of what can separate a good teacher from a great teacher. Most teachers can teach a good lesson with the proper materials and resources, but not all can make that connection with the students. If we can better understand out students we will be able to better assess what is holding them back and what is pushing them forward. In many cases the cause of many students problems in the classroom do not actually start in the classroom they start at home. "Children's experiences at home can have a direct impact on their performance at school, research at Cardiff University, UK has found. Recent findings from the South Wales Family Study suggest that the quality of relations between parents not only affects children's long-term emotional and behavioral development but also affects their long-term academic achievement." If the proper support is not provided at home or if negative reinforcement is going on it can hamper the students outlook on school. Getting to know your student and making meaningful connections with these students can help give them the necessary support needed to succeed and feel accomplished.
Students need to know you care and are not their to fail them and judge them, the way to do this is to take interest in the student's lives inside school and outside, never giving up on the student (many students will try to push you away because that is what they are use to but when you stick by them it builds trust) and use the interests of the students to teach math or any subject. Respect the students and they will respect you, as teachers we often forget that we need to earn the respect and this take patients, when that respect is built and they know you are their for them more then just to mark their work and teach lesson's they will want to perform for you, they will not want to disappoint you, they will put in the extra effort, they will ask for help, they will want to succeed and with out that want there is no chance. Ways to start this process - Interview your students, give assignments that allow students to share experiences, encourage classroom discussion, attend your students school activities.
Many students will succeed whether you make that connection with them or not but their are many out there and it seems more and more every year that need that connection to succeed at their full potential. Lets do our job and be more then presenters, lets be teachers, make those connections, make a difference.
http://hepg.org/hel-home/issues/27_1/helarticle/five-easy-ways-to-connect-with-students_492
http://www.livestrong.com/article/151892-what-are-the-effects-of-the-home-environment-on-learning/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050509114047.htm
Hi Ian,
ReplyDeleteI have to say I agree with your post. When I was working at a school a year ago, I had a grade 11 college class, and I made a special effort to get to know each of my students, as a result, in a class of 33 students, I never had more than 2 students absent a day. They all passed the course, because they all did the work. I didn't realize that this was not the norm until the next semester. It wasn't an easy class, but I only have 3 "rules" and they are: be prompt, be prepared, be kind. And I really enforced the last one. I found the class tended to participate more in discussions, were more likely to put forth ideas, and all of them had a desire to complete the course. I haven't had a class quite like that since then, even though I still follow the same rules, and make the same effort to get to know each of them.
Hi Ian,
ReplyDeleteI have to say I agree with your post. When I was working at a school a year ago, I had a grade 11 college class, and I made a special effort to get to know each of my students, as a result, in a class of 33 students, I never had more than 2 students absent a day. They all passed the course, because they all did the work. I didn't realize that this was not the norm until the next semester. It wasn't an easy class, but I only have 3 "rules" and they are: be prompt, be prepared, be kind. And I really enforced the last one. I found the class tended to participate more in discussions, were more likely to put forth ideas, and all of them had a desire to complete the course. I haven't had a class quite like that since then, even though I still follow the same rules, and make the same effort to get to know each of them.