Establishing good relationships with our students is essential for some teachers whereas others prefer to be strict at all times and just teach their lesson.
For me, relationships are my top priority since I think that, when you have a solid relationship with a student, everything else just happens! Your journey as a teacher is much easier and their journey as a learner is much happier! I have now been teaching for many years and I have evidence to prove that this actually works. It even improves uptake at GCSE because they sometimes choose the subject based on that particular teacher… Let’s face it, in some cases, this is the reality!
However, establishing relationships isn’t always easy for all. This is way I wanted to share with you some ideas so that you can apply them to your teaching:
- Always greet your students at the door and, on Mondays, ask them how their weekend was.
- Welcome them back to the classroom. I always start my lessons with: 'Welcome back, nice to see you all again!' It just sets the tone for the lesson.
- Go around the class and give live feedback. I use a blue highlighter and I take this opportunity to check on them.
- Give them choices in the lesson. If they do not want to do a particular task, offer them an alternative rather than arguing about why they do not want to do it.
- Listen to them! If they say they need to sit somewhere else or take some time out and they give you a reason, just respect that and make it easy for them.
- Give them genuine praise so that they can see that they are actually doing well.
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Show them that it is important to help each other and establish routines for collecting books,
glues, paper, etc. This way they take responsability and learn about respect and the idea of sharing with others. - Outside of the classroom, say hello to them when you see them in the corridors or in the playground.
- If you are on duty in the canteen, take this opportunity to talk to your students outside of the classroom. This can have a massive impact in your teaching later on!
- Every now and then and, when appropriate, tell them something funny or a joke. Especially your most challenging students love this or simply tell them about some of your hobbies... Students then see you as a human being and they can relate.
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And... Smile at them! This is so important!
These tips may seem obvious but I thought I would share them as we all sometimes forget about the simple things that can have an impact.
Hope you find some of these ideas useful and you can start implementing them with your classes.