Building Those Relationships (Week 10)

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, relationships are crucial. More and more as I progress through my student teaching internship, I am realizing the value and importance of building strong relationships and rapport with our students. This week, that importance became even more clear.

This week was a long week for me. On top of Daylight Savings Time (which impacted my students way more than I realized it would), we had a very busy week. Every night I was staying after school until 7 or later, working with students, planning lessons, and helping with the local Leadership Development Events. I was exhausted and challenged more than I have been throughout my internship but the relationships with my students are what kept me going. 

Even on the days that I had to drag myself to school, I quickly perked up and was excited to see my students when school began. They always keep a smile on my face and keep me laughing. Whether they're telling jokes on the bus, telling stories in the middle of class, or bringing me a slice of apple pie for Pi Day, they give me a reason to be there.

Not only do the relationships with my students make my days better and worth the long hours, they

help me to have a stronger voice in their lives. I saw this impact often throughout the week. My freshmen students, when I began teaching the FFA Creed, told me that they could never learn it and they were really struggling to keep their grades up. After attending ACES with them and really focusing on improving on my relationship with them, things began to change. They began working harder on learning the Creed and decided that they would compete in the local Creed Speaking Contest. Every day since then, they came in 2 periods each day and I worked with them to improve on their speaking skills. This week, they competed in the local contest and although they did not place high enough to move onto the regional level, I was so proud of them. They had taken a step outside of their comfort zones and worked so hard to become better speakers. Without having this strong relationship with them, they may have never had this experience.

Another student, one of my juniors who is on my Meats Evaluation and Technology team, stayed after practice on Tuesday to talk to me more about her future career path. After some discussion, I set her up to use the Career Finder on Ag Explorer's website. After taking the quiz, she shared that her top career suggestion was Agriscience Education Teacher (win for Miss Herr!). I immediately grabbed a flyer for the Teach Ag Essay Contest and encouraged her to participate. Since it was late, I told her we would talk about it the next day and sent her home. However, at 9 o'clock that night, she texted me and asked me for help because she was so excited to get started. The next morning we got started and she can't wait to teach her lesson. This example meant a lot to me because I know that this student trusts me enough to ask for my advice and give it a shot when I make suggestions.

I know that I've said it a lot, but the one thing that this internship has taught me over and over again is the importance of building relationships with our students. Having strong relationships is beneficial in so many ways because it allows us to have more sway with our students and it makes our days a lot brighter!