Relationships, relationships, relationships. Relationships are so important in every aspect of life but especially in the classroom. A good teacher-student relationship can increase student motivation and engagement, it can decrease classroom management issues, and it really just makes life better for both the teacher and the student.
But how do we form them? Especially coming in mid-year as a student teacher, it can be tough to build relationships with students while also managing student behavior and teaching what you need to teach. Connecting with students during class can be done but sometimes those students just need more to be able to begin to trust you and respect you. This weekend, while attending the PA FFA ACES Conference with my students, I figured that out.
I’ve been at Penns Manor for six weeks now and have definitely begun forming relationships with many of my students, asking them about how things are going, finding out what interests them, and occasionally goofing off a bit during school. However, I’ve really struggled to connect with my freshmen. My Ag Careers and Leadership class is the last period of the day and has 21 very chatty freshmen in it. This has resulted in some frustration on my end and has kept me from really being myself in class. I’ve been so concerned with getting them to be quiet and learn that I’ve completely overlooked the fact that I’ve given them no reason to listen to me. But now, I get it.
This weekend, we brought 13 students to ACES, about half of them from my freshmen class. I was excited and planned to use this opportunity to get to know them better and show them that not only am I human, but I can be pretty fun to be around (if you ask me). All weekend, I pushed myself to talk to each student, be goofy and have fun with them, and make those crucial connections. After a fun dinner spent laughing together and a night of dancing and singing, I can definitely see the relationships forming.
This is such an encouragement to me and is something that I will really push myself on as we return to school on Tuesday. I may not be able to spend that kind of time with each of my students but little by little, I can get to know each of them and build the relationships.
Agricultural Education is so unique but so amazing. As ag teachers, we are given the opportunities to
connect with our students in ways that other teachers can’t. So, when they ask you to sing, sing! When they ask you to teach them how to dance to Cotton Eyed Joe, you better be ready! Teacher- student relationships are one of the most important things we could focus on to make our teaching better and I’m thankful for the opportunity to have had such a special weekend with my students to do so. Only 9 weeks left to go but I am feeling as confident as ever and can’t wait to see my kiddos again on Tuesday and pick up right where we left off.
This weekend, we brought 13 students to ACES, about half of them from my freshmen class. I was excited and planned to use this opportunity to get to know them better and show them that not only am I human, but I can be pretty fun to be around (if you ask me). All weekend, I pushed myself to talk to each student, be goofy and have fun with them, and make those crucial connections. After a fun dinner spent laughing together and a night of dancing and singing, I can definitely see the relationships forming.
This is such an encouragement to me and is something that I will really push myself on as we return to school on Tuesday. I may not be able to spend that kind of time with each of my students but little by little, I can get to know each of them and build the relationships.
Agricultural Education is so unique but so amazing. As ag teachers, we are given the opportunities to
Victoria, so glad that you used the time at ACES to continue to build strong and foundational rapport with your students! This will go a long way in the classroom and when getting these freshmen involved in more FFA activities. It's just another way to remind our students that we teach them first, and the content next.
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