Throughout my Wise Wednesdays posts, I have been discussing about the importance of building connections with students through various ways. Time and time again, it has been emphasized that building connections with our students is so imperative in creating a positive and rich learning environment. Undoubtedly, this point has been emphasized for good reason. My experience in my practicum school has really hit home this point for me. Over the past few months, I have built a strong connection with many of the students in the class. Even though I am only at the school once a week, I still see snippets of their progress and little improvements, which I absolutely love to see. Some of the students are coming a long way with their reading and writing!

I will be the first to admit that there are a couple students in the class who I am still trying to build a connection with. I realize that not every student is always willing to come to me to share a story or two and that’s okay. Each week, I make an effort to talk to and have a conversation with a student that I have not yet established a strong connection with. For example, today I casually had some conversations with a couple students during snack time about how they were doing, what they were planning to do over the weekend, etc. It was a great time to connect, to learn more about their interests and hobbies, and to just learn more about their personality. It is with my hope that before I begin my 10-week practicum that I have made a strong connection to all of the students in the class.