10 Tips for Making Connections with Students in the Classroom and Forming Working Relationships with Them.

It is important that teachers build professional relationships with students. An article from The October 21, 2008 edition of the Wall Street Journal supports this idea. Read the article to find out what happens when students who are at risk of failure or who drop out of school know that someone cares.

Economic Ripple Effect on High School Students
Take a look at this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122455013168452477.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

These are 10 tips to help teachers begin to form relationships with students, especially at-risk students.

1. Match names to faces, ask each student to say her or his name as she or he walks in so that you can hear it and repeat it.

2. Address your students by their names. It makes building a relationship easier and helps it happen faster.

3. Shake hands with or give students a high five and say their names as they walk in the door. Greet them with an unpretentious smile.

4. Make positive and encouraging comments to individuals that let them know that you notice who they are and that you acknowledge their presents as important.

5. Briefly ask them about things that young people are doing outside of your classroom. This could range from sports events, extra curricular activities, to other events and projects that they participate in inside or outside of school This is a good time to mention news worthy events.

6. Give students positive feedback about something they’ve done well in class recently.

7. Use a sticky pad to write the numbers from 1 to 10 on different sheets. Put them in a hat, cup, bowl, or basket. As students come in ask them to pick a number from one to ten in your basket that indicates the ways they are best able to learn and receive information. You can use the same methods for discovering how students are feeling that day. When using it to find out how your students feel, after they are all seated ask them to hold up their numbers to get a feel for how the are feeling that day. You might want to do an activity that causes everyone to focus before beginning your lesson. This will help take their minds off how they feel.

8. To allow for constant feedback, once each week or once a month give each student a personal written greeting that mentions something you appreciate about their presence in your class. Alternate weeks for different classes so you create a cycle that you can repeat every month. One way to make this less overwhelming is to put a list of 30 or 40 appreciation responses on your computer. You can write in the students’ names, print out your messages, and cut them into strip. You can use this same method for making comments on student work. Students love to read encouraging messages on their work when it is returned. Use technology, send encouraging emails to your students.

9. Take it slow, and arrange for personal interviews with students, talk to them and try to understand their needs and concerns, try to help them with their graduation requirements and their goals, allow them to make choices about class assignments and activities, give feedback so that they feel heard and important. This is a good time to set limits and make consequences Always be positive and appreciate good deeds and refrain from criticism, be non judgmental. This encourages students and inspires them to do better. Talk to each student about the high expectations you hold for them in academics as well as far as behavior is concerned . Ask if they need any further assistance but don’t make promises you can’t keep. As them to share their goals.

10. Finally, lighten up a little, use a little humor into your lessons from time to time. Laughter is good for the soul. Laughter is good all the time, all the time laughter is good.