It’s so funny because when I first started teaching I used to think about classroom relationships as just those between myself and my students. Well as you can imagine, I quickly found out that classroom relationships don’t just center on the teacher and the students but the teacher, students, and the relationships held with the families and parents of our students. These relationships will ultimately become a huge part of your overall classroom management plan.
Through my teaching experience, I have found that the classroom relationships that we form with my students and their parents trickle to all areas of our learning environment. You might be teaching virtual this year or are teaching face to face. Whatever the teaching platform you may be using to teach through, having healthy classroom relationships is key to the overall success of your classroom management.
Education Ain’t The Same
A lot has changed in our world of education. We have to meet our students where they are and can’t expect them to want to learn or do their best if there is no relationship there. We can be the best teacher there is and teach the most amazing lessons and have the most amazing ticket out the door, but again, if there is no classroom relationship, the chances of that lesson doing all that you intended it to do are slim to none.
By the time you read this blog, it may be early August, late January, or your school year may just be coming to an end. No matter the time, there are things that we can do to recognize the impact and importance of positive student-teacher relationships as well as understanding the importance of positive parent-teacher relationships.
How Teachers Build Great Relationships With Students
Productive teacher-student Relationships affect student achievement. Students want to know that you care about them. You see them, you value them, and you hear them. They want to know that you are there genuinely for them. Developing Positive Teacher-Student Relations is something that we must strive to do every day.
One of the easiest ways to begin to build great relationships with your students is to seek out student interests. Once you know what your student(s) are interested in, you can then bring that into classroom discussions, whole group or small group lessons, or just bring it up in passing.
Giving genuine words of encouragement is something that helps build great relationships between the teacher and student. I absolutley love praising my students! I have realized that positive student-teacher relationships create resilient learners and giving genuine words of encouragement helps to foster those type of learners and as educators, isn’t that the type of student that we want?
Techniques for Building Solid Parent-Teacher Relationships
Parent-teacher relations are an invaluable part of your classroom management plan. The best time for building parent-teacher relationships is at the very beginning of the school year. The best time to work on this is at the very beginning of the school year.
One of the things that I like to do is hold individual Meet The Teacher meetings. Depending on your class size, it will determine the amount of time you’ll need to set aside for your meetings, but it can be done! This is a great way to introduce yourself to your new families. You can also go over your classroom expectations for the year. Parents can get to know you and you can learn about your new student. By asking questions of your new families, you are showing an interest in them and their child and are forming those classroom relationships.
Once the school year has taken off (within a week or so), we must reach out to our families to let them know how the first week of school has gone and how we are enjoying their child. When I first did this, it seemed a bit odd to me. I mean, I don’t even know my students yet. How can I tell if I truly am enjoying them or not? If there is one thing that you do, this is it! This should also be followed up throughout the year. Sending an encouraging email or great news home with your student is a wonderful technique for building solid parent-teacher relationships.
Communication
The importance of parent-teacher communication can not go unnoticed. In my classroom I would rather give too much information than too little. I teach second grade this year and this is a big jump from fifth. No matter what grade you teach though, parent-teacher communication is vital. Communicate with your students families about upcoming tests, current grades, falling or failing grades, special events, etc and communicate regularly.
When a student is failing, reaching out through email or phone is a wonderful way to keep a parent informed. If there are tests that are coming up or special events, you can create a classroom newsletter. Your newsletter can include anything that you’d like. I always include what we are learning for the week, important dates, need to know information and a special note from me.
Classroom relationships
A lot goes into having healthy classroom relationships! Sometimes it can be daunting, but in order to have a successful school year, you have to have them!
I created a My Parent / Student Positive Relationship Checklist and wanted to share it with you! I have my checklist in a binder on my table and refer to it weekly if not daily. Let’s work together to make sure our relationships are solid this year, and in the years to come!
