Last year... I felt that building relationships with students was not a strong priority for me. That's partially on the belief that in college (or other future endeavors), relationships aren't what's going to get students to be successful. They would need to find ways to advocate for themselves with or without positive teacher relationships.
I think I've turned a 180. Something's been bugging me about my stance in the back of my head. Part of it is Alfie Kohn's (radical eduation psychologist) words, "Just because things will suck later isn't justification for making them suck now." Another part of it is that relationships help young people decide how they see themselves... and even whether they like a subject or not. With math, that seems particularly important for my students of color. And perhaps selfishly, it also helps a lot with classroom management. I'll be honest- there are students I have good relationships with... and students I have poor relationships with. One student, Jean, (who I have a good relationship with) continued to be distracting throughout class- laughing loudly when I'm going over material or having side conversations during a whole group discussion. I started the conversation: Jean, I love you. I think you're pretty awesome. In class you're being disruptive sometimes. (She claimed she was unaware.) I said, sometimes I'll look at you and that's my way of saying, I need you to focus. Other times, if that doesn't work, I'll call you out in class. But it's not because I'm mad at you or because I don't like you. It's just because I need you to bring it back. You feel me? Jean replied, "I got you." And I realized HOW EASY that was. It was SO much easier to have that conversation because we had a positive relationship already. And I realized it's so much HARDER to have these conversations when I have a poor (or no) relationship with the student. I would get things like "You're singling me out. This is unfair. You're not making sense in class. This is too hard." etc etc.
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Second semester is a month away! Woa, time flies.
First, Happy Martin Luther King Jr day. Especially in times like these, with Laquan McDonald and Eric Garner on our minds. Things definitely need to change. In Chicago Public Schools, teachers (and students) are stressed. The Illinois budget crisis has Chicago borrowing millions at junk bond status. Newer teachers are concerned about whether they'll be RIFfed (Reduction in Force) for second semester. Principals are worried about reprogramming an entire school. Last Friday, half my students were gone. A boycott... or a march... or both. Trying to save our city. It's exhausting to think about... and mostly disheartening. I wonder how teachers can continue to stay in education... especially when they have other options. I'm glad to be in Chicago though. It's an exciting time to be fighting for public education. |
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