SIMPLE RELATIONSHIPBUILDING STRATEGIES

How can teachers overcome the obstacles to forging strong relationships with students?

Relationships are the foundation for everything else involved in teaching and learning.

Educators accept the fact that building strong relationships with students is an important part of the educational process. It is the first and most important step in getting students to learn.

Having a strong relationship increases student motivation and reduce behavioral issues, and they improve student achievement and classroom climate.

Teachers, if they want to spend more time building relationships with their students, should overcome obstacles like time, the curriculum, and planning which all get in the way.

Because time is a precious commodity in education, it’s important to schedule class time to get to know students.

Teachers can get overwhelmed with a long list of skills that accompany any curriculum, so they must make sure students learn what they need for their class or grade level.

Content-related activities that involve small-group or individual responses can go a long way.

All content areas leave room for the teacher to share relevant personal anecdotes that help students see their teachers as human, opening doors for future interpersonal interactions.

When planning, teachers must make sure they’ll be teaching, assessing, and reassessing to measure learning and to form further instruction. They have the opportunity to also carefully plan assignments that bring their students’ interests to light.

--oOo— The author is Teacher III at Calzadang Bayu Elementary School