2008 Sept Biggest Improvement from Last Year to This Year- Building Relationships

My biggest area of improvement as a teacher from last year to this year was learning how to build relationships with my students and their parents. My first year of teaching I was horrible at building relationships. I didn’t have any I idea what I was doing and was just trying to stay above water. Those who I would speak with at the New Teacher Meeting told me that I would have to build relationships with my students. I had no clue on how to start. I was so busy that first year proving that I was a teacher that I completely missed the mark with most of my students. I did. however, build some relationships that year, but as I’ve seen in the following two years, I could have done better.

Last year I had a “different” group of students. I fostered some relationships more so with my junior high students than with my high school students. I would ask them about their lives outside of school and dodge questions about my life outside of school. I would conference with students about negative behavior and call parents about positive behavior. I reached a lot of my younger students. My high school students were a little more hesitant about letting me into their lives. It was harder for them, because I did not start off with the high school class-I only had junior high and elementary. As time progressed I was issued a high school class around November or December 2007, almost 3-4 months after school started. I did fairly well that year, but I realize how that I could’ve done better.

So far this year has been one of the best years for student relationships. Because my alternative students know me from last year, they have a better respect for me, because I am still around. I have students who could not stand to be in my class last year coming up to visit me between classes. We talked about staying the 2nd year a lot in class and it does seem that it ups your street credibility. The students see you there for the 2nd year and they trust you more. They tell their friends about you-good or bad, but they still respect you more. I find myself telling other teachers all the time things like: “Have you talked to him? Call his mama, she’ll straighten him out! Or let me speak to him.” Looking back I remember the teachers at my first school saying those same statements when I would have trouble. I never thought that I would be in their shoes today. Talking with my students and just stepping back at how I handle certain situations helps me see my growth as an individual and a teacher. I am just glad that I am fitting into my teaching style, and I am glad to see that I have come this far with building relationships. I hope to keep getting better.