What does a positive and effective relationships with students look like, and how do I achieve this type of connection with my future students?
I chose to pursue this question for many reasons. The first is because a relationship is one of the first things created in the classroom. On the very first day of school, teachers set the bar for how the year will go. If an educator makes a good first impression and establishes a foundation for a trusting relationships, students will not only learn more but want to learn more.
Relationships in the classroom affect everything. Obviously they affect classroom management and discipline, but they also influence how comfortable a student is in the classroom and even the amount of information learned. I always feel more engaged when the person at the front of the room is someone I have a positive relationship with.
I wanted to research student-teacher relationships because I think it is something that is hard to teach. It is easy to teach backwards planning for creating lessons or classroom management techniques, but building relationships is something that is really done through experience. It takes trial and error to determine the best way to connect with students. I thought I would start trying to figure out how to build this type of rapport now so when I get into the classroom as a teacher, I have a better idea of what I am doing.
Lastly, I have always had a higher opinion of teachers when I felt they connected with me on some level. My favorite teachers were the ones that genuinely showed an interest in me. I felt the most comfortable around these instructors. When I came into the education program at Butler, one of my goals was to become the type of teacher that I loved so much. Researching this question has helped me to do so.
