Do I Know You?

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” – Theodore Roosevelt

I have always found it both surprising and encouraging that AITSL Teaching standard 1.1 is Know the Students. There is so much research to indicate that students learn best when they feel known and supported by their teachers. This article is certainly not going to cite all that research as I am sure a quick google search and you will find a myriad of articles. Rather, I intend to focus why and how we should know our students, and the experiences I have had when building great relationships with my students.

I read a really interesting argument on social media a few weeks ago. An experienced teacher was lamenting the notion that graduate teachers had little to no subject knowledge and that they were coming out of university ill-equipped in a subject, and all “touchy-feely” about relationships. I started to formulate a response but I try avoid getting into conflict on social media. Essentially my thinking did not entirely disagree with him about subject knowledge but I did disagree in regards to his thoughts on the “touchy feely” aspect. You see, to me, an effective teacher puts students first and content second. I believe that you cannot teach the students anything unless they know you care, so therefore if you dont care, then subject matter is irrelevant. Ask around your school and find out how many teachers are teaching outside their university specialisation. I am sure you will find plenty (says the university Sociology/ Anthropology major) who has now been teaching English for 17 years.

The first question I ask any student teacher that I work with is “why do you want to be a teacher”. If the response doesnt include something about liking students, I am instantly concerned. I vividly remember a student-teacher a few years ago who was genuinely fearful of the students. I worked through with him the issues but could not quite get him to understand that if you do not like students or are scared of them, then you are in the wrong game. It was difficult, but to his credit he left his practicum and pursued other career options. Similarly, at interviews where I have sat on the panel, I listen out for the candidate who puts students first. To me, subject knowledge can be taught but genuinely wanting to know the students cannot.

Investing in building genuine relationships with students takes time. As a beginning teacher in the school, students will be genuinely interested in everything about you, but also initially somewhat wary of you until they think they have you figured out. But, like all relationships, the nurturing of them needs to be a two way street. With keeping professionalism in mind it is important to let your students get to know you; the things you like, some interesting anecdotes, the teams you go for, the TV shows your watch etc. I cop a lot from the boys for my support of the Adelaide Crows (well this year anyway) but I see every bit of banter, sledging and light-hearted abuse as building the relationship. The connection continues to grow, and in reality, they are only giving back to me what I have been giving them for years. Similarly my vague knowledge of Netball and the feats of the Sunshine Coast Lightning gets me into a lot of conversations with the Netball players in the school. Even better was when one of my friends used to live with Caitlin Bassett. There are countless ways I reveal aspects of myself to the students. It can be those conversations or personalising things in class. For example, my Year 12’s have their exams coming up and I intersperse my revision tips for them with stories from my own experiences doing the HSC. This builds rapport with the students. Those things tend to be on a more global scale but open you up as not just the teacher but a person as well.

There are lots of ways you can build positive and lasting relationships with the students. One way suggested is to keep a little personal file on them. Every time you discover something, you add it to the file and can keep it as a record. This can not only be the big ideas but things like family members names, animals, interests etc. Then when you are intentional about a conversation with them, these facts you accumulate can come out. The student will know you care, because you have idenitified things about them, and the relationship strengthens.

Another way is to have a focus student, each day or each week. This can be explicit to the students or something that you keep as a record. It is very easy to build relationships with the students with whom we naturally connect (for example: in my case the AFL boys) but we often tend to struggle to find the means to connect with the quieter students in our care. I have an intentional list of my home group students. With the list, I ensure that I make a conversation with them a key focus on multiple occasions each term.

Some starters that I use include; Are you taking care of…sleep, nutrition, physical activity, time away from screens, social media use, spending time with loved ones, hobbies/interests outside of study, relationships with your parents.

And depending on the responses my responses can centre around; have you thought about…making a planner or reassessing your study goals? Attending tutoring, Speaking to a Head of Year, Dean of Students, Checking out online resources like headspace, Talking to your parents about sleep/technology routines? Joining a sports team/ music group, Checking in with your GP, Using an app like Smiling Minds to help with sleep?

Another teacher I work closely with has a google form to keep track of her students Her method is to touch base with each student every week asking them the simple questions;

What went well this week.
My week would have been even better if.
I wish my teacher knew – but i usually do that separately

She then asks them to nominate who they would like to sit next to for the next fortnight, but also telling them that she gets to make the final decision. The real data comes in being able to identify who is being chosen lots, who is not being chosen at all and sometimes its opens eyes to relationship breakdown among students that a teacher would not usually see. For example we sometimes look at two people and think they are super close , and then dont see beneath the surface that one is being weighed down by the other and doesnt know how to say it.

Whatever method you use never underestimate the power of investing in getting to know your students. Study after study suggests that students will only learn when they feel safe. By investing in getting to know them you are helping them succeed. Also, we got into teaching because we like students, so investing in getting to know them is all part of the fun. You will hear some great stories, learn some amazing things and become a better teacher for it.

What methods do you use to get to truly know your students? Comment below.

For further discussion on knowing our students and all things teaching, join our Facebook group; Australian Early Career Teachers Association