Student-Teacher Relationships, part 4

Hello everyone,

The first step in establishing a relationship with a student is to learn the student's name.

This may seem basic to some of you, but it's a struggle for those who come from other countries or cultures that are vastly different from the Mexican/Central American/North American culture that predominates in East LA. Struggle or not, however, it's essential.

In fact, if you have not memorized your students' names by now, you probably have severe behavior problems in your classes. (There may be behavior problems for other reasons, too, but there will almost certainly be problems if, by October, you don't know the names of every student.)

The easiest way to learn your students' names is to put them into a regular seating assignment. Today, twenty years after I may have had a student, I can remember where that student sat in my class when I hear the students' name. (I don't know if that's good or bad, to remember silly details like that, but it shows the power of mnemonic devices.)

After you memorize their names, you need to memorize something positive about them. Do they play a sport or a musical instrument? Do they skate well? Do they have artistic talent? Are they natural leaders? Are they honestly funny? Do you know their family or their ancestral home? Make sure you know at least one positive thing about each one of your students--preferably a positive thing from outside the classroom. It doesn't have to be something that you particularly like, just something positive that you are willing to talk to them about.

Find something that they can teach you. I know very little about professional wrestling or deth metal. I was introduced to ska, reggae, The Smiths, skateboarding culture, freestyle (lucha libre) wrestling, video games, and heavy metal by students. Some things my students told me about I have discovered that I like; other things I don't like. But my students always enjoyed the conversations we had outside class. (They are much more willing to be taught when you are willing to be taught--just let it be outside class.)

Call them by name; know a little about them; honestly listen to them; ask them about what interests them; talk about your mutual interests. All of those things will bind you together in just the sort of appropriate friendship that ought to exist between a teacher and a student.

Jeff Combe