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Tag: the foundation

  • The Foundation: A Line in the Sand

    Draw a Line in the Sand

    It is incredibly important that when we talk about relationships, we talk about them in a purely professional sense. There have been far too many children who have suffered because their relationship with their teacher became more than professional. Keep yourself personally safe. To do this, you have to make some boundaries for yourself, and stick with them.

    1. Children are your students, not your friends.
      You need to build a relationship with them, that doesn’t mean you have to be their friend. You can be likeable, you can be funny. You can be there for them when they need you to be, but there’s no need to accept an invite to their birthday party or play on the swings with them after school.
      Draw that line in the sand.
    2. Teachers are their teachers, not their friends.
      You are their teacher, not their friend. They might like you as a person, but your job is not to be liked – it is to teach. Don’t let the guise of “friendship” stop you from keeping them accountable or making the hard call to follow consequences or make them do the hard work.
      I often get students saying “Sup Mr…”. I tell them they can say “Sup” to their friends. Not to me. I’m not their friend. At this I usually get a stink face or a “Awww sad” in reply. I follow it with “I’m your teacher”.
      Draw that line in the sand.
    3. Personal Cellphone is your personal cellphone. 
      Don’t share your personal number or other details with students. Too many teachers I’ve seen got caught up with this. It’s just not worth it. This also applies to all other forms of communication, including social media, personal emails, etc…
      Draw that line in the sand.
    4. Your class is more than one student.
      Never get into a situation where you are solely focussed on one student. You have a responsibility to the others. This will hopefully stop you from having favourites. It will also stop you from getting into one on one situations which could lead to trouble. Always have more than one student in a room with you, or have open windows for all to see (for one on one testing for example). Simple.
      Draw that line in the sand.

     

  • The Foundation: Building Relationships

    Relationships. Such a loaded word. And so many get it wrong. They use the wrong cement, or the wrong dimensions, or don’t dig deep enough (or some dig too deep!). Getting it right is key to the success of the rest of the building.

    I call them an “in”. Getting an “in” with a student opens them up. Being able to get “in” can be your key to success in being able to reach a student; to be able to meet them where they are and teach them effectively.

    How to build relationships

    1. Use humour
      This is the number one tool that you can use to break down those barriers that people put up when first meeting each other. The kind of humour that works is making fun of situations, never of people themselves. Getting the students to laugh with you is key. The other factor is to be able to laugh at yourself, and getting them to laugh at themselves.
      A good joke once in a while is good fun. Puns also work a treat, and are especially good when half the class miss it, while the ones who pay attention and who understand get it. It becomes a little “in” for those students and you can build on it from there. Humour is highly effective, especially for those hard to reach kids that are too cool for school.
    2. Be Genuine
      They say that dogs can smell fear. Well… kids can smell fakery. Building relationships is one of those things where you can’t “fake it ’til you make it”. You have to be genuinely interested. You have to genuinely listen. You have to genuinely care about what the student is telling you, or what they’re interested in – even when you have a million other things to do. Failure to be genuine undoes any hard work you might have tried prior to it. It tells students you don’t care, that you have other things that are more important, and that you don’t value them.
    3. Get to Know them
      This kind of goes without saying, but it needs to be done. Get to know what your students do in their spare time. Get to know what they think about when they’re waiting for the bus. Get to know what your students get up to in the weekends. What do they do with themselves? Who are their friends? Who lives with them? Then begin making connections. If they play sports, let them know what sports you used to play when you were their age. If they are learning a musical instrument, share with them that your sister plays the same instrument. Don’t make it up. Be genuine. These “in’s” are key to making connections with people. It’s why Māori begin speech with their Mihi and explain about their whakapapa, their maunga, their iwi, their whanau; all so that those who they are addressing might be able to connect with the speaker over common ground.
    4. Be Unrelenting
      Never give up on building the relationships. Maybe one child had a bad day yesterday and you had to discipline them… don’t let that affect how you treat them today. Maybe one of your jokes didn’t hit the mark. Don’t stop trying another one to break the ice. Just because you’ve asked how they are today, don’t give up on asking how they really are.
    5. Be equal
      Okay. We all have favourites. But don’t let the students know that. And don’t let yourself know that. Tell yourself that you don’t have favourites. Don’t let that thought enter your head where you start to rank students in your mind from favourite to not so much. Not even on the last day of school and they’re all no longer your students.
      Let them know that you value each of them as individuals – not just with your words, but your actions as well. Sure; you will have more input into some students than others. Some students will crave more attention from you than others. Some will be better behaved, be more responsible, and do more awesome things than others. But each of them are still in your class.
    6. Actions or Words
      Actions speak louder than words and words can never hurt me. Both words and actions are important. Words can pick people up and put them down. But actions speak volumes when it comes to relationships. I can turn up to the after school touch rugby and cheer on my students from the sideline, not say anything to them about it before, after, or during and the mere fact I was there can mean the world to some kids. It shows you value them. It shows you care enough to come watch them.
    7. Be their Teacher, not their friend
      Teachers often get this wrong – especially beginning teachers. You are not there to be their friend. They have those already. You’re there to be their teacher. You’re there to instruct, ask questions, model, explain, and challenge. You’re there to push them towards greatness. You’re there to encourage them to be better.
      You’re also there to call them up when they step out of line. Stick to your expectations for them all. Students might not like you for an hour when you issue the consequence for their constant disruptions, but they will respect you forever for sticking to your guns and calling them on it.

     

    Next Part:

    The Foundation: A Line in the Sand

  • The Foundation: Relationships Matter

    The reality of it is, building without a foundation is somewhat pointless. If you start with the finished product without laying the groundwork, you will ultimately fail.

    The same can happen with teaching.

    You can have all the best learning intentions with well paced lesson plans and resources developed and prepared, but if you don’t put in the hard work first, all of it will be for nothing.

    So what is the groundwork for teaching? What is the foundation from which to build everything else from in your classroom?

    Relationships.

    Relationships.

    Relationships.

    The relationship between the teacher and the student is vital in making a difference in that student’s ability to focus, to trust, to experience, and ultimately to learn. Some students thrive on this more than others, but that does not make it any less important that you build a relationship and rapport with each and every student.

    Without it is pointless.

    The Māori proverb is often bandied about around many schools, and yet many overlook it.

    “He aha te mea nui o te ao. He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata”

    What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.

    And although we often refer to them as students, pupil, or children, it is important to remember that these are all young and growing people. They each have heartbeats. They each have spirit. They each have fears. They each have strengths. They each have backgrounds. They each have futures.

    Students who can trust you will follow you. Students that feel valued will value what you say. Students that have a place to belong will do anything to be a part of that. Students who feel they are a part of something will welcome in new ideas and new learning. Students who feel relaxed also feel comfortable. Students who are comfortable become confident, and confidence leads to taking risks. Learning new things always requires a big risk.

    Relationships do not happen overnight. They take time. Little moments can go a long way over the course of a year. Do not give up on them and just jump into the curriculum, all the lessons, assessments and the “learning”. Instead, focus on the relationship building each morning, each afternoon, and use each lesson as not only a learning experience but an opportunity to share time with your students. Get to know them. Get to know what makes them tick and what ticks them off. Get to know what their fears and dreams are. Get to know what they find funny and what upsets them. Understanding these things is like mixing and laying the concrete foundation for your building.

    By building relationship we can engage. By building relationship we can inspire. And by building relationship we can unleash.

    Next Part:

    The Foundation: Building Relationships

  • The Foundation: An Introduction

    A man began building a multi-storey high rise in the centre of the city. He worked furiously away at his dream building. He wanted a glorious penthouse at the top, with panoramic views overlooking the city. Luxurious furnishings and fittings, the gold standard in design and comfort. He began at the top, laying tiles over the top of each other and then raising them up on a slope so the rain could run off. He built the penthouse ceiling under it, before constructing the walls, windows and doors. Before long he was carpeting the floor and installing the plumbing for the grand en-suite. The patio decking stretched out from the large living area. He furnished the penthouse with expansive sofas and designer tables. The kitchenette had the latest in appliances and the reflection off the white marble was near blinding. It was a perfect example of a presidential penthouse.

    Then came the moment to build the floor below. He hired cranes to get the penthouse lifted, and began building the walls down. Each additional floor was the same, lifting the top higher and building the floor below. Eventually he had the desired number of floors and was able to start laying down the foundation.

    Something tells me that this is a slightly more difficult way of building. Needless to say that by the time he had finished, repairs and damages to the existing penthouse were extensive. The marble slabs each had a large winding crack through the middle of them, and many of the windows had long become shards. Several roof tiles fell to the ground with each subsequent level of the build.

    A teacher walked into the classroom on the first day of the year and stood at the front. He began teaching his dream lesson that was designed to fill his students with knowledge, awe, and excitement. It was engaging, collaborative and included everything a perfect lesson for learning needs…

    Next Part:

    The Foundation: Relationships Matter