Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
‘Art of teaching’ key, officials say
SILOAM SPRINGS — Teachers need to build a relationship with their students first when it comes to reaching, Dr. Elizabeth Wieneke said.
Wieneke, who teaches eighth-grade U.S. History for general and honor students at Siloam Springs Middle School, said it is a “no man left behind” situation.
“My goal is that every student who comes into my class knows they can trust me,” Wieneke said. “I have their back, and I will help them be successful however I can.”
When students know this, they are more willing to take risks and try something harder, Wieneke said.
“They’re more willing to come to me if they have a problem,” Wieneke said. “That way, I can help them out because they know I care, and that’s my biggest thing with them.”
Wieneke is one of several teachers who have mastered what Superintendent Jody Wiggins and Assistant Superintendent Amy Carter call the “art of teaching.”
Wiggins and Carter spoke about how teachers who have that skill are better prepared to engage students and shepherd them toward graduation.
They brought this up while giving a data and performance report during the School Board meeting Dec. 19. The data showed a drop in growth during the previous school year, Carter said.
One reason was the infrequency of face-to-face instruction during the covid-19 pandemic, Wiggins said.
The district was also implementing a new curriculum, and Wiggins thought teachers had gotten away from planning lessons.
“I’m afraid that, to some degree, we’re reading scripts instead of the art of teaching,” Wiggins said.
One of the cornerstones of teaching has been the ability to reach students by building relationships with them, said teachers Kelcie Madding, Natalie Scott, Michael Smith and Grace Stumbaugh.
“I am learning who they are as a whole kid, not just their academic success,” Madding said. “But what kind of relationship they’re looking for with an adult. That way they feel safe here at school.”
Madding, who teaches Family Life Science at Siloam Springs Middle School and is the ninth-grade head cheer coach, said she is able to meet her students where they are at academically.
When the students become freshmen at the high school, she gets to see them again if they try out for the cheer team, Madding said.
Smith, who teaches Medical Terminology and Foundations of Healthcare at Siloam Springs High School and is the head varsity baseball coach, said the way he is able to build relationships is by making himself vulnerable to his students.
Scott, who teaches ninth and 10th grade Honors English at the high school, also found building relationships is critical to student success.
“If you have a relationship with the students, they’re much more willing to engage with you,” Scott said. “They’re much more willing to learn.”
The key to Scott’s success has been not giving up on her students, and she is persistent in trying to reach kids in her class, she said.
Stumbaugh, who teaches kindergarten at Northside Elementary School, said thinking like a 5-year-old has helped her reach her students.
“What’s going to get them interested?” Stumbaugh said. “Basically, what’s going to hold their attention, which is a lot of hands-on and exciting fun, creative stuff. They’re not going to be learning if they’re not excited or interested in what they’re learning about.”
Each teacher has barriers they needed to overcome when teaching.
“A lot of them don’t trust adults,” Wieneke said. “Or they’ve learned that teachers are there more as authority and punishment.”
Barriers that Smith had seen were among his players’ grade point averages. The state requirement for eligibility to play is a 2.0 GPA, and each player has a 2.5 GPA, Smith said.
“We don’t try to push them to their full potential,” Smith said. “We help them understand what their full potential is.”
Mental barriers were the challenges Scott faced, she said.
“Some students are a little more rough around the edges,” Scott said. “Those are the students that really need your love.”
While all children are different, Scott said treating everyone like a human being can help build that relationship.
Stumbaugh said barriers she deals with are behavioral and sometimes emotional. Sometimes a student will have a bad morning at home and they come to school dysregulated, Stumbaugh said.
“We have to deal with that and get them feeling safe and regulated before we can get through to them,” Stumbaugh said.
The previous year, Stumbaugh had a student who had trouble regulating her emotions, but by the end of the year, the student was listening and following directions, Stumbaugh said.
“It wasn’t perfect,” Stumbaugh said. “But I think I made a lot of progress with her.”