Student-Teacher Relationships

A positive student-teacher relationship is especially important for students who may be at risk for anxiety or any other social, emotional or academic difficulty. A positive relationship “creates an environment where the teacher supports the child in various learning and social tasks” (Huberty 2012, p. 115). In order to promote these positive relationships, a teacher should “demonstrate behaviours such as encouragement, recognition of effort as well as performance, praise, positive approaches to discipline, and ability to direct and redirect the child’s attention and behaviour in positive ways” (p. 115). It is important for students to “feel a sense of belonging, maintain a nurturing relationship with her, experience a reasonable amount of freedom, and be and be seen as competent at different tasks” (Watson, 2004, p. 1). Teachers can help students feel important and build a classroom environment by getting to know small personal things about students and see and appreciate one another’s strengths. They should also believe in the worthiness of their students and clearly convey this to the students. Teachers should also encourage these conversations between their students to help build a community within the classroom. It is also important to involve students in “conversation and reflection on moral and social, as well as academic, issues and helped them see that school’s not just learning how to read and write its also learning about how to live your life” (Watson, 2004, p. 2).