“If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse, however if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that”

-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Inclusive, supportive relationships among everyone

Common goals and ideas

Routines opportunities to help/serve others

Shared responsibility and voice

Teachers are facilitators

Students feel safe and to take academic risks

Students are intrinsically motivated

Respect for individual differences

Teachers provide positive modeling

What is belonging?

-Basic human need

-Repeated, emotionally favorable interactions with other people

-Stable context, which includes individuals concerned for each other’s good

-An emotional attachment, a feeling of safety, and a sense of being acknowledged and encouraged.

What does belonging to a classroom, or a group, mean to me?

-I feel like I am accepted and important. I feel safe to share my opinions and ideas because I know others are listening and respecting my thoughts. I am excited to be there because I am surrounded by people that care about me, and are just as excited to see me and be there as I am. You are with a group that will accept you at your worst, a place where you feel able to have a bad day. A place where I can identify with me peers. My attributes are utilized and the things I don’t possess are not highlighted.

As educators, how can we foster these feelings for our students? 

First impressions are huge. The first 5 minuets of the class will set the tone for the remaining 65 minutes.

Get to know your students, ALL THEIR NAMES, at the very least. Find a common ground with one student every day. What are their backgrounds?

Celebrate diversity. Find common grounds, but accept and encourage students to be proud of their uniqueness.

Smile. Want to be there, and if you don,t, look like you want to be there.

Use some humor. Be careful. Not everyone will think you’re funny.

Being Organized: time, assignments =stability

Finding out what your students like

Give input in decisions: choices!

Everyone has bad days. In the profession of education, educators give, give and give, and seldom take time for self care. What can we do when we have a bad day? We definitely can’t rely on our students to be a shoulder to lean on. We must leave out emotional baggage at the door, but then pick it back up on the way out and deal with it. It is absolutely crucial that we as educators are socially and emotionally competent(SEC), especially in self management and relationship skills. Research shows that teachers that model high SEC positively effect the SEL of their students.

Teachers… get your sleep, eat well and laugh. Do this, and you will love your job because other’s will love you for what you do.