Whether you are teaching online or face to face, there are some things that will never change with teaching. It’s the reason why teachers do ice breakers, take time to establish routines, or make children fill out those getting-to-know-you forms at the beginning of the school year.
How are you feeling about the new school year?
What did you do over the summer?
What do you do for fun?
Questions behind these are more than just time fillers or to tally up small facts about each child. These activities are to establish relationships with kids.
Why is that important? Because if students enjoy coming to class everyday and feel comfortable to be vulnerable – which is what learning is all about – then they are more likely to show up to class, pay attention to the lesson, and try their best in their work everyday.
Like most relationships, student-teacher relationships take time to develop and build trust over time. Often our favorite teachers are not the ones that were amazing at executing lessons word for word or were great at managing a SMART Board. Instead, they were the ones that truly saw us for who we are. They believed in us and saw immense potential. They laughed at hiccups in their lessons or twinkled with fun when teaching something new.
That’s what I wish for all the teachers who are tackling remote learning during this crazy, stressful time. While you are learning the new online platform your administrators have thrown your way or trying to adapt your in-person lesson to an online version, I hope you will remember to connect with students on a personal level. So, roll over your mistakes and focus on what’s really important:
The Student.
And in many cases right now, students are feeling very nervous about learning in front of a computer just as much as many of you are teaching in front of a computer.
Although the current situation is not one that anyone wanted or expected, the reward of connecting with one another is still available to students and teachers. I wish you all the best in developing those relationships online or in-person this year.
Lots of learning can grow with that strong connection.
