This blog post is the final in a series of three regarding building relationships with students.
Building Positive Relationships
2x10 - Making it Happen!
I spent ten days learning about my students. For this inquiry, I only chose a handful of students who I felt could use a little extra "love". This activity solidified my belief that teacher-student relationships are everything in creating a positive classroom culture.
During those ten days, students who wouldn't follow directions were now being leaders. Students who refused to do any work were finished quickly and giving me 110% of their best ability. I watched students who were bullies start to stand up for others. New friendships were formed and overall, my classroom was a less stressful, happier place to be. I was happier to be there.
To further test the 2x10 strategy, I selected one student and only spent five days getting to know him. Every morning I met with him after breakfast to read together. On day six, when he came to me to read, I suggested he pair up with another student instead. I did this for day seven, eight, nine, and ten. For those last five days of my inquiry, I stopped meeting with this student to read and "hang out". On day eight, I noticed that this student started to revert back to his poor behavior and work ethic. Instead of jumping at the opportunity to help me, he became outright disrespectful. This continued until I began to meet with him again and build his trust once more.
Although I will be missing the first few weeks of this new school year, I plan to start building relationships with my students before I even go back. I have a Flipgrid set up for students to record short video introductions and a interest inventory as a Google Form. My hope is that by doing this from home, my transition back into the school year will be a smooth one.
Building Positive Relationships
2x10 - Making it Happen!
I spent ten days learning about my students. For this inquiry, I only chose a handful of students who I felt could use a little extra "love". This activity solidified my belief that teacher-student relationships are everything in creating a positive classroom culture.
During those ten days, students who wouldn't follow directions were now being leaders. Students who refused to do any work were finished quickly and giving me 110% of their best ability. I watched students who were bullies start to stand up for others. New friendships were formed and overall, my classroom was a less stressful, happier place to be. I was happier to be there.
To further test the 2x10 strategy, I selected one student and only spent five days getting to know him. Every morning I met with him after breakfast to read together. On day six, when he came to me to read, I suggested he pair up with another student instead. I did this for day seven, eight, nine, and ten. For those last five days of my inquiry, I stopped meeting with this student to read and "hang out". On day eight, I noticed that this student started to revert back to his poor behavior and work ethic. Instead of jumping at the opportunity to help me, he became outright disrespectful. This continued until I began to meet with him again and build his trust once more.
Although I will be missing the first few weeks of this new school year, I plan to start building relationships with my students before I even go back. I have a Flipgrid set up for students to record short video introductions and a interest inventory as a Google Form. My hope is that by doing this from home, my transition back into the school year will be a smooth one.
I challenge you to learn three things about each of your students.
I'd love to hear your reflections and thoughts on how this affected your classroom culture.
Blog about it, tweet it out, just be sure you share it with me!
I'd love to hear your reflections and thoughts on how this affected your classroom culture.
Blog about it, tweet it out, just be sure you share it with me!
@theashleyhorton
