The teacher of the year in the Springfield, MO school district (largest school district in the state) said that she believed that education is built on good relationships with the students. Interestingly enough, I talked to a principal today who said that what he looks for in a teacher is someone who builds good relationships with students. I agree wholeheartedly with both sentiments.
As a teacher, I strive to build relationships with my students. These relationships need not be friendly, or close, but they should be based, as the best relationships are, on trust. I want my students to trust that I am giving my best effort, and that they are safe, and that I do have their best interests at heart. On my part, I would like for my students to do their best, and be courteous, and respectful of my wish to help them and their classmates achieve. I understand that they may come from a place where trust does not come easily. My role in the relationship is to overcome this reluctance. This is what is difficult, and also rewarding, in being a teacher.
Strangely enough, I can't help but believe that this belief is part and parcel of the reason the administration at my last teaching position released me. They probably would not view it that way, but since my intents and goals were not a part of any dialogue I was involved in, I really am unsure how they would have viewed it.
The long and the short of it was, I had a student who could be difficult. He was likeable in many ways, and intelligent, but events in his life had given him some trust issues which I had to overcome as a teacher. This student was very interested in the military. He asked me one day if I had any tattoos from my time in the service. I said yes, and he asked to see it. This was in class. My tattoo is on my chest, visible when I wear a tank top (if I were to wear tank tops, which I don't). I had shown my tattoo in previous classes, and didn't think anything of it. Apparently, however, one of the students in class reported that I had shown my chest in class to a member of the elementary faculty, who told the superintendent. The next day, I received an e-mail from my principal, asking if I had "bared my chest" in class. I told him it only required me to pull down my collar slightly, and yes, I had shown my tattoo. Nothing more was said, but several months later, my contract was not renewed. The principal felt it was the tattoo incident which had lead to this state of affairs. So be it, I thought.
Fast forward several more months, almost a year. I encountered the student to whom I had shown the tattoo at a gas station. He told me I had been his favorite teacher, and that he had decided after being in my class that he wanted to be an English teacher. I am unsure he will follow through on this career path, but his willingness to even consider it shows me a high level of engagement in what I was trying to teach, which was my goal in the first place.
I do believe that good education is founded on relationships. Before true education can occur, a positive, trusting relationship must be in place. A good analogy (and I love analogies) would be that before a plant can grow, before a seed is planted, the ground must first be prepared in order to ensure the fullest bloom and the finest fruits. Without the relationship, the students will do only the bare minimum necessary. Mediocrity will be the result, and while I have not mastered the ability to foster a good relationship with each and every student, at least I am trying.
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