Читать книгу If You Don't Feed the Students, They Starve - Neila A. Connors - Страница 14

Marzano states, “Positive relationships mean less work engaging students, easier classroom management, a longer focus time, and students willing to take risks.” Teachers must build these relationships through communication, seeing students as worthy and responsible, keeping commitments, being kind, clarifying expectations, and being loyal, fair, and consistent. Some simple ways to build relationships include:

1 Be waiting at your door when students arrive. You can assess any problems, the happy kids, and other emotions about to enter your classroom.

2 Be aware of who you call on throughout the lesson. Try to develop a culture where every student feels comfortable to share.

3 Respect, respect, respect – all students until they don't earn it. Then attempt to establish a one-on-one where the topic is discussed.

4 Make sure you work on consistency. Students pick up on inconsistencies immediately. In some schools, the only consistency is inconsistency.

5 Have a “bell ringer” or “do now” activity on the board that students must start on immediately upon entering the classroom. All of the teachers at MacIntryre Park Middle School (MPMS) practice this strategy and praise students who follow the instructions.

6 Teach students what your expectations are and what they look like. Go over them daily during the first month of school. And occasionally when a review is needed, start over again. Do NOT assume students know what you mean when you say, “Enter the room quietly.” To teach the student, you must reach the student.

Building relationships is a precondition to student learning. Students recognize the adults who do not enjoy their job, the students, and ultimately their life and can detect a phony in a heartbeat. It takes very special people to teach and be in education. No matter what your job title or classification is:

Superintendent, district level staff, principal, assistant/vice principal, support staff, – we ALL are TEACHERS first because students observe and note EVERYTHING we do, say, and model.

No matter what grade level, students recognize when adults enjoy being around them. There is an old saying I first heard in undergraduate school, “Students don't care how much we know until they know how much we care.” My friend and colleague, Dr. Richard Ramsey, always says in his presentations “You know the teachers and adults that students love; students are always hanging around their classroom/office and look forward to seeing the adult. If there are no students at your door during the day, they just don't like you.”

Jeanette Phillips, a former middle school principal in Fresno, California, shared this story: One day she was standing in the hallway talking and laughing with two seventh grade girls. A female teacher, known to all to be a “lemon sandwich eater” (grouchy and unhappy) and not student-friendly, walked up to Jeanette and the girls and sarcastically remarked, “Don't you just love these students?” to which one of the seventh grade girls responded, “If you love the students so much, why doesn't your face ever show it?” Wow! As my mother, Helen, always said, “The proof is in the pudding.”

We begin with respect, which fosters positive relationships that lead to relevance. Creating a relevant atmosphere of care and compassion is vital.