The Importance of Letting Students Know You Care

image - www.frameworkinstitute.org 

When a student is struggling in class, every teacher hopes and expects that that student will come forward and ask for help, and many times they will.  However, if the student doesn't believe the teacher cares about their success, or even worse, would help them when they ask, then there is little chance that the student will say anything at all.

As teachers, we all care about the well-being and success of our students.  We would all like for each and every one of them to succeed and move on to bigger and better things.  Yet, we understand that some students will not succeed through no fault of their own unless we give them that extra boost to help them on their way.  A good teacher is available and willing to help any student who asks for it, a great teacher knows which student needs help and goes to them without being asked.

Life happens, it often gets in the way and it rarely proves to be an easy road to walk down.  Balanced adults can handle the curve-balls and still hit home-runs, but the average teenager is going to strike out a few times before they get on base.  Help them with their swing - show them the techniques that will enable them to succeed in your class.  If you were going to be a student in your own class how would YOU take notes?  How would YOU prepare for the test?  It's not cheating to provide the tools that they need to succeed.  Remember, just because they've already been in school for several years doesn't mean they've figured out which strategies work best for them.

School is about learning more than just the material in the curriculum.  School is about learning interpersonal relationships.  Its about learning respect and decency that is required of all human beings in society.  Its about  discovering that caring for someone else can be even more gratifying that simply caring about yourself.  Show your students you care, share in their successes and hold them up through their failures.  If they know you care, maybe (not always) they'll care a little more too and their drive to succeed will inspire the students around them to do the same.

-MB

NEXT WEEK: Don't Be Afraid to Learn from Your Students