I would like to foster a sense of trust in my classrooms by showing students that I genuinely care about them. At the beginning and end of every week, I will do check-ins with my students and have them share one happy moment they experienced during the weekend and one that they experienced during the week. I will make it clear that no matter whether they are experiencing something positive or negative, I will always be there to listen and provide support if they choose to confide in me.

In line with my teaching philosophy, I believe that while it is important for me to build good relationships with the students, it is equally important that they build good relationships with each other. I will provide them with as many opportunities to work with different classmates as possible so that they learn to work with peers of all different personalities and working styles. In life, people often have to work with colleagues they do not like, and this is an important skill that I want my students to have.

During my practicum and community field experience (CFE), I found that I built rapport with my students by being myself, laughing genuinely, and sharing my stories. Students from my CFE told me that they could tell I wasn’t just laughing awkwardly to cover up my nervousness, my laughter truly bubbled from the bottom of my heart and it cheered them up too. By laughing and sharing stories, I was able to motivate students and that is something they said they will always remember because they find most of their classes to be monotonous. I absolutely agree with my inquiry III instructor that even if students don’t remember what you taught them decades later, it makes you feel great if they remember their relationship with you.

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This one is for you, Kal!