What lengths am I willing to go to in order to do right by every child?

    From my incredibly limited experience, being a teacher is one of the most rewarding, and exhausting jobs there is. As a teacher, you want to make sure all of your students are happy and safe. You want to be the teacher that everybody loves and wants to get. However, all of these "perfect" teachers have likely given up countless hours of unpaid work and made many sacrifices in order to achieve this. If one day, your kids are coming into the classroom and you notice one of your students seems really tired, and isn't really engaging in the lesson like they normally would. Everyone has off days, maybe they just didn't get enough sleep last night. But as the week goes on, you notice that this student still seems out of it, and they start missing assignments and you start to get the idea that something else may be going on at home. Of course, you can't stop the whole class to go and check in with this student, but it would be good to find a time, maybe during independent work to go and ask them how they are doing. For situations like this, you need to make sure that you have created a positive community in your classroom, because without a positive relationship with your students, they are never going to open up to you or ask for help. It is really easy to write of a students bad grades to a lack of care or being unmotivated, maybe sending a email home to mom  or dad, checking in and calling it a day. However, I truly believe that a good teacher would also take the time to ask their students personally if they are okay, because showing that you care can make it easier for students to be truthful when they need to ask for help. 

    Building relationships with students will ensure that they believe they have someone to turn too, as sometimes a parent may not be that person. Asking students about easy things, like what they like to do for fun, or any interests outside of school can also make it easier to address the tougher situations, like what may be happening at home that can be effecting them at school.(Herbert Kohl) Having constant conversations with students, instead of only talking to them when you think something may be going on will also make it less obvious to the rest of the class that a classmate may be struggling. If a student knows that their classmates are watching, they are very unlikely to say anything to you and they could begin putting up wall to protect themselves. 

    All students deserve a chance to learn. Teachers should also be watching and learning students strengths and weaknesses. Some students may really struggle to learn things just by taking notes, and may benefit from hands on exercises or group work. Taking the time to restructure a lesson can make all the difference in a Childs life and education, and show them that you want what's best for them. 

    Me, I strive to do everything I can do make sure I do right by my students; regardless of what it costs me. If I can change just one students life with my teaching, I would consider it a success. It is our job as teachers to advocate for our students both inside and out of the classroom. I believe that the future educators will be strong voices in the future to make sure our students get the best chance at education, and I am very excited to find my part to play. 


check out more about building relationships with your students here! https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/i-wont-learn-from-you/


Kohl, Herbert, and Herbert Kohl is author of 36 Children and. “I Won't Learn from You!” Rethinking Schools, 5 June 2021, https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/i-wont-learn-from-you/. 

Comments

  1. Risa MartinezMarch 30, 2023 at 8:23 PM

    Hey Lilli! Great post this week, I really enjoyed reading what you had to say about building relationships. I agree that creating relationships with students is important to students and to us as teachers, because it will build trust and the students will open up. This can bring students to openly express themselves because all we want is for the students to feel comfortable with themselves and know that they are in an accepting and safe environment. This will also make students feel more at ease when they are learning in the classroom because they feel understood. And because they feel understood, we as teachers will know how to make that student feel seen in whatever we teach. This in all will create a better and more inclusive learning environment.

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    1. Lilli MasseyMarch 31, 2023 at 6:12 PM

      Thank you for your response! I think a strong classroom community is SO important in the classroom. I know all my favorite teachers in the past have made an effort to connect with their students and allow for students to get to know each other as well. These are the teachers who inspired me to want to work with kids myself, and I do hope to provide the same learning environment that was provided for me.

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  2. Kirsten DawsonMarch 31, 2023 at 11:16 AM

    Hi Lili! I loved reading your blog post and hearing your thoughts! I think it's extremely important to check up on your students just in general or when something seems off. Students should feel safe and know they have our support 100% as their teacher. I still remember some of my teachers that I would always want to visit even years after having them. Making those connections and creating the feeling of safety and comfort is something I hope I can provide for my students. Taking the time to listen and learn what they need in order to learn better from us is important. We should be willing to go as far as we can to make sure they feel loved and included in and out of the classroom. It’s our responsibility to adapt to their learning styles.

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    1. Lilli MasseyMarch 31, 2023 at 6:14 PM

      Thank you for your response! I am so excited to meet each of my future students and learn about their hobbies. I can remember my favorite teachers and how much of an effort they put in to make sure that us as students felt comfortable sharing and asking questions, and it really made such an impact on my education. I hope that I can do as well by my students as my teachers did by me.

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  3. Bailey MarksMarch 31, 2023 at 4:17 PM

    Hi Lilli, thank you for sharing your blog! It is so true that great teachers are often the ones that make personal sacrifices for their students. My mother was one of these and as a kid I remember feeling sad about the fact that most of her time was spent on her students. Later, when I was in her class, I realized that that is one of the things that makes the students feel comfortable and willing to learn from her. It is like with any job adults must balance work and home life but I feel like it is different with teachers because they are working with younger people, not just paperwork. It is because of all the extra work and love a teacher puts into their job that should be reflected in how much they are respect and pay they earn. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me!

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    1. Lilli MasseyMarch 31, 2023 at 6:17 PM

      Thank you for your response! my mom is a teacher as well, and I used to love going into work with her when I was very little. She puts in so much work around the clock to make sure her students have the best chances to learn as possible, and she spends lots of her own money on resources to better improve her students learning experience. Recently, she has put white board material from home depot all around her classroom for students to do practice problems together in groups, and it has been working really well in her 8th grade math classes.

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