TL;DR: Educators face growing challenges engaging a generation with abundant distractions and information. Building meaningful connections with students is essential for their success. Strategies for connecting with students include greeting them warmly, establishing classroom expectations, looking for shared interests, incorporating playfulness, communicating with parents, and attending extracurricular events. Prioritize kindness, respect, and building connections over strict curriculum adherence to foster … Read More
Show 130, Summer PD Series: Digging Deep on Relationships
In every podcast we hear from our guests, relationships matter. Care for the students, be real, be present, etc. This is, without a doubt, true, but how do we do it well? This podcast digs deep on this question and forces our guests to create a guide for how teachers can create successful relationships with students. Bethany Petty and Candace … Read More
Reflections on Relational Diversity
TL;DR: Relational diversity refers to the variety of social interactions we have regularly. Interacting with more people from different groups in your life leads to a higher level of relational diversity. Examining and increasing our relational diversity helps us feel better physically, emotionally, and mentally. You can go ahead and file this under “Things I Already Know.” According to positive … Read More
The Special One
TL;DR: We can’t reach the mind before we touch the heart. Focus on relationship building while still holding high expectations for students. It’s important to make each student feel special. The Favorite My grandma is 98 years old. She has 6 children, 7 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren. Of her grandchildren, I am her only granddaughter, automatically making me the favorite. … Read More
8 Qualities of People Who Build Great Relationships
TL;DR: People who build great relationships listen, make time, are present, admit when they’re wrong, give good advice, are empathetic, commit to trusting others, and think of the other person. Eight Qualities of People Who Build Great Relationships While we enter our second or third month of school, many of us have already well-established relationships with our students to have … Read More