“Inquiry into Relationship and Community Building”
When reflecting on supportive teaching relationships between teacher and student, a variety of descriptive words come to mind:
positive – genuine – balanced – open – connected – creative – respectful
Supportive teachers give positive feedback and exhibit an optimistic mindset when interacting with students. Even when doling out necessary constructive criticism, the teacher should frame this criticism in a way that says ‘I know you can do better – I want you to succeed – I care about you.’ This positive mindset must be genuine, however. Students can sense when an adult is being disingenuous. Learn student names, greet students when they enter the classroom, and have open dialogue with students. Teachers need to be real with their students and exhibit authentic interest in the successes of each student.
Teachers must carefully balance a friendly, approachable demeanor with a no-nonsense, critical attitude when needed. Exhibiting a genuinely friendly, open, and approachable personality helps to garner student attention, support, and interest in the classroom. Students want to see you (the teacher) as a real human being, someone to whom they can relate. I believe this can bolster student interest in class material as well as help the teacher to form personal relationships with students which, in turn, can help teachers guide student personal development. In cases of suspected misunderstanding, teachers and students should dialogue and listen to each other. And when a situation calls for enforcement of discipline, teachers should ensure that the consequences match the infraction. When teachers model how to be "positive – genuine – balanced – open – connected – creative – respectful" with their students, then he or she can hold students accountable to the same standards when students interact with each other.
My understanding of supportive teaching relationships and the steps to take to form these relationships in the classroom stems from observations in the classroom and my own interactions with my students this year as well as reflection on my own educational journey. Even beyond the classroom, I believe that I can use lessons learned from forming relationships in my personal life to guide relationship formation with and among my students. I think it is important to step back occasionally and see each student as a unique, developing, individual person and not merely a younger, inferior child. It is important to remember that, on one hand, high school students are still children who need guidance and discipline, but on the other hand they are developing adolescences that will soon be adults. Teachers should balance the need to teach, guide, and discipline students with the need to let these students develop their own identities.
Teachers must carefully balance a friendly, approachable demeanor with a no-nonsense, critical attitude when needed. Exhibiting a genuinely friendly, open, and approachable personality helps to garner student attention, support, and interest in the classroom. Students want to see you (the teacher) as a real human being, someone to whom they can relate. I believe this can bolster student interest in class material as well as help the teacher to form personal relationships with students which, in turn, can help teachers guide student personal development. In cases of suspected misunderstanding, teachers and students should dialogue and listen to each other. And when a situation calls for enforcement of discipline, teachers should ensure that the consequences match the infraction. When teachers model how to be "positive – genuine – balanced – open – connected – creative – respectful" with their students, then he or she can hold students accountable to the same standards when students interact with each other.
My understanding of supportive teaching relationships and the steps to take to form these relationships in the classroom stems from observations in the classroom and my own interactions with my students this year as well as reflection on my own educational journey. Even beyond the classroom, I believe that I can use lessons learned from forming relationships in my personal life to guide relationship formation with and among my students. I think it is important to step back occasionally and see each student as a unique, developing, individual person and not merely a younger, inferior child. It is important to remember that, on one hand, high school students are still children who need guidance and discipline, but on the other hand they are developing adolescences that will soon be adults. Teachers should balance the need to teach, guide, and discipline students with the need to let these students develop their own identities.