The Importance of Forming Relationships with your Students

             As future educators we will run into all kinds of different students. There will be students that can be discouraging and hard to deal with as a teacher. I’ve been lucky enough to have a lot of time substitute teaching so I’ve got to see some of this firsthand by subbing in the in-school suspension room. I saw students who were smart, personable, and had all the tools within themselves to succeed in school and do whatever they wanted to in life. But, despite that, they were failing all of their classes and it felt like there was nothing I could do to convince them to try. If you could get them to try for even part of a day, they did great on their tests or assignments despite not going to class often.

             Watching students make decisions like this was hard for me, even as somebody who was just a substitute. I spent a week working in the in-school suspension room and I couldn’t get any of them to talk or listen to me the first couple days. Finally, on the last day I was able to get one to open up and tell me why he wasn’t trying. He had an extremely difficult home life and had to work late every night to pay for his things and by the time he woke up for school he didn’t have the energy to try in school. There was nothing I could do to help his situation as much as I wanted to. But, after he talked to me about it and saw that I understood and cared about his life, he listened to me and allowed me to help him. He worked hard the whole day. Trying to build a relationship and showing you care about a student’s success can make a world of difference to them. As Dr. Larson has said multiple times this semester, building relationships with your students is the most important part of teaching, and I whole-heartedly believe in that. Yet this is not limited to teachers who work in a disciplinary room, it’s especially true for math teachers.

             Lots of students dislike math as it can be difficult and extremely frustrating. So, as a math teacher we need to find ways to make the class more fun for them. A great way to do this is to be personable and form relationships with your students. Being approachable to all students can make their experience with math more enjoyable and they’ll be willing to work harder. I think this is especially true for students with little to no motivation. Getting to know those students and making them know you genuinely care about their success can make a world of difference to them. Being able to help your students, in more ways than just teaching math, is what makes teaching enjoyable and worthwhile.

            

I Just Want to Say Thank You

Imagine a school in which the teachers and administrators expected nothing from you. You don’t want to graduate? Okay, that’s fine. You don’t want to show up to class? Okay, that’s fine too. Now, some students may think “oh man, this is the best school ever.” But what if school is the only place you can go in order to get a meal to eat? What if school is the only safe place for you to be at? What if school is the only place where you feel important and cared for? Would you still want this?

Cruz showed up on Coach Carter’s doorstep one night after his cousin was shot on the street. It was the only place he felt he could go in order to get out of this lifestyle and be safe. Cruz is a character in the movie Coach Carter who lives in a life of poverty, drugs, and gangs. In one of the scenes towards the end of the movie Cruz said to Coach Carter, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. Sir I just want to say thank you. You saved my life.”

As educators, it is not often that we will get thanked for the impact we may have on students’ lives. But the thank yous are not why we choose to enter the field of education. Educators choose this profession in hopes that they can change lives; maybe even save lives. To me, being a teacher is not about teaching a subject, but about teaching young adults the value that they bring to this world, and the value their education can bring to them. Coach Carter taught Cruz his self-worth. He taught Cruz that even he, a troubled kid, has just as much light to bring to this world as any other kid. I hope that I will be able to instill in my students what Coach Carter instilled in his basketball players, which is, your success in life does not come from others’ expectations for you. Your success in life comes from the expectations you have for yourself. Educators have the opportunity to shape lives. My hope for myself is that I will do that and more. And to all of the educators who have impacted my life, I just want to say thank you.