I’m a big believer in the importance of developing relationships. Organizers say community organizing is just another word for relationship-building, I have a chapter on developing relationships with students in my book on teaching English Language Learners.
There’s a nice article in Middle Ground titled “The Power Of Positive Relationships” by Tara Brown that shares some more ideas on how to enhance building relationships in the classroom.
Thanks to John Norton and his MiddleWeb blog for the tip.
Hi Mr. Ferlazzo. My name is Teri Hampton. I am an Elementary Ed. major at the University of South Alabama. I am currently taking EDM 310, Microcomputing Systems. For this class, we must comment two times on a teacher’s blog who we are assigned to. After the second comment we must summarize the teacher’s blog posts that we commented on and our comments. I will be posting my summarization on September 12. Here are the links to my blog, and my class blog.
http://hamptonteriedm310fall2010.blogspot.com/
http://edm310.blogspot.com/
Building positive relationships with students is extremely important. It not only helps build their trust and confidence in the teacher, but also creates an enjoyable environment for learning. I worked at a daycare a few summers ago. I had one student who always acted out. I saw his “cry for attention,” and instead of punishing him, I showed him positive attention. I asked him questions and talked to him. He immediately warmed up to me, and I did not have any more problems with him the rest of the time I was his teacher.
Larry – thanks for the nod. You ARE the best!