Building Relationships

Last week I was able to sub for our elementary physical education teacher that was on our 8th Grade class field trip to Washington DC. Since I wasn't able to chaperon the trip, I was asked to sub for him and jumped at the opportunity. Now, let me be the first to tell you that elementary phy ed is no walk in the park.

My body was not ready for the continuous games of tag, stretching, and plain old fun. Not to mention the constant tattling, bickering, and rules infractions. While it was all quite an adjustment, I did notice a common trend through out the week - the better I was able to establish a rapport/relationship with these students, the better the students behaved and followed rules.

That's when it truly hit me - being a teacher is less about course content and more about building relationships with students. As teachers, we often fulfill many roles in the lives of our students; teacher, counselor, parent, friend, coach, and role model. While most teachers never signed on for all of these roles, the greatest teachers embrace them and understand the importance they play in educating our children.

While we all chose our field for specific reasons, we sometimes have to sit back and remember that not everyone is as passionate as we are about the subject. I came to the realization a long time ago that many of the math skills I teach students they will probably never use directly in their career (solving rational expressions or Pythagorean Theorem aren't necessities in most jobs.) Instead, I use math as a tool to help students build skills that will make them successful in whatever line of field they choose.

All students need to learn accountability, hence we have daily assignments and tasks in math. All students need to be good at critical thinking, which is why I include challenge problems in math. All students need perseverance to stick with difficult situations, which is why I give students Enrichment tasks during each chapter. The sooner I realized that the math wasn't the important skill for students, the sooner students and I were able to develop a relationship that was based on looking out for their best interests.

With out doubt, I encounter problems on a daily basis. However, because I have built a relationship with students, I am able to handle every situation in my class on an individual basis. My students know I have their success in life on the forefront of every decision I make. My students trust me and give me their trust and respect on a daily basis.

More often than not, my end of the year surveys come back with students stating "I've never learned so much math in one year", "This was the best math experience I can remember", and "Thanks for making math fun!" As I read these statements, it often chills me that students had negative experiences in math because teachers were too worried about the content rather than the student. For those reading this, I urge you to put your rational thinking aside for a moment and ask how you've built a relationship with your students. What can you do differently next year to help students see their full potential and help them build skills for their future!