Just today as I was walking down the hall to get my students from lunch, I heard another student shout “Hi. You were the Cat in the Hat”. He waved to me with a great big grin on my face. I said hello back and couldn’t help but smile as I recalled our Read Across America celebration in March. I dressed up like the Cat in the Hat. My student intern dressed up as Thing 1 and her friend, a student intern in another classroom, dressed up as Thing 2. They thought I was kidding when I first suggested the idea! Wrong! Let me tell you… those two have commitment. They spent the night before going from store to store looking for the proper attire.
Back to Dr. Seuss…It was a great time. The third grade, fourth grade, and support teachers did an excellent job planning, organizing, and carrying out the event. I heard numerous positives.
What really got me thinking were the comments like “We should be professionals. The dress up days are for the kids.” Initially, I was a hurt by this comment. After some reflection, I decided I should welcome disagreeing viewpoints. Everyone has his or her own opinion and that’s ok. When others disagree with me, my actions, or my beliefs, it is not a personal attack. Disagreeing viewpoints push me to reflect on why I believe what I do and why I do what I do. Are my beliefs truly in line with my actions? Do I have good reason for it? Is it what is best for kids?
I admit I take part in our dress up days at school. I don a hat on Hat Day. I have worn my pajamas on PJ Day. I find that my students respond favorably. They want to know about me as a person. They want to know about my life. It builds our relationship. It’s part of creating that positive classroom environment. It gives us shared writing experiences. I don’t agree with the traditional “Don’t smile until Christmas.” adage. Do you?
What are ways (big and small) that you develop strong relationships with your students?
I think there a lot of ways you can build strong relationships with students. I agree that our students want to know us as people. My kids, as well as many others in the building, enjoyed that I dressed up as Thing 2. They also liked that I wore Mickey Mouse pajamas on PJ day. I can think of one particular student that I now have a great relationship with but it took 5 months to get more then the words "no" and "why" from this student. I then started joking around with him all of the time with everything and this kid is now accomplishing more than ever across the board. I think kids are willing to work harder with a teacher that has taken the time to build a strong relationship than one who has not.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that it is so important for students to view you as a human being and not just a teacher that lives in a school. I believe it is important for teachers to be active in school activities such as "Read Across America Day", "Pajama Day", and any other extra day we have. It shows the students that you are not too good to participate and they, in return, feel more comfortable about participating in school wide activities. Having students participate in return gives a sense of a community throughout the school and helps children relate to each other. Although I am now known as "Thing 1" it has actually been a great thing! Not only are my students more comfortable with me, students around the building feel they are able to approach me. For our students it is especially hard to trust and feel comfortable around other adults so I am pleased to show a soft and fun side every once in a while to show I am human. Building relationships with students is hard work and is something which needs to be worked on everyday. This can be done through participating in school activities, greeting them at the door, having one-on-one time with students any chance you can, eating lunch with them, etc
ReplyDeleteIt was such a pleasure meeting you at the Milken Forum! I hope to keep in touch with you as you continue to explore unsung heroes. I'd like to start something with my second graders soon :)
ReplyDelete