In my opinion teaching is the hardest job. Imagine someone who starts a day by greeting the children in the front door. And the day goes like; putting the coats off, listening their adventurous dreams (mostly absurd), telling them to eat, trying to range them, shouting “sit down!” , explaining the assignment, telling “bye!”. Beyond all these, teachers have got many responsibilities.
First, let’s talk about common characteristic of a teacher.
A TEACHER SHOULD;
-be a fair person
-be a good-listener
-be a model
-be energetic and dynamic
-have a self-confidence
-be aware of 21st century skills
Above all, a teacher should be well-organized. We , teachers, have many stuff to do. We have to keep many things in mind. If you have a good memory, it is OK. If you don’t, I recommend you to get a day planner. Write down every task, and check them regularly. By doing that, you’re not going to skip over a task. And also a well-prepared course plan makes a teacher feel safe and confident. Don’t ignore that.
A teacher is who never stop learning. We should be open to learning. We should always improve ourselves. Sharing experiences with our colleagues can help us about improving our skills.
If a teacher has a good relationship with her/his students, they We can say that the most important factor in teacher-student relationship is listening. It will not be wrong if I say students learn listening from their teachers.
Having conversations with our own children and with our students opens the door for the language development and relationship building. With education being so content drive, it is hard for teachers to make time for relationship building and conversation, yet it is one of the most important factors in a child’s development.
According to John Hattie’s Effect Sizes (2015), teacher-student relationship has an effect size of 0.52. If we look at other effect sizes listed in Hattie’s study (2015) impacted by conversations and relationships, such as classroom discussions (0.82) and classroom behavior (0.63), we can see that our time spent talking with kids is just as important, if not more important, than effective direct instruction. (0.59).
When we take the time to build relationships with students, the amount of positive behavior increases (Boynton&Boynton,2005). An increased amount of positive behavior allows for better classroom management and an increased amount of learning time (Marzano, Marzano &Pickering, 2005)
Due to two-way communication between teacher and parents;
- the student behave positively,
- the interest of student increases
- teacher-student relationship gets stronger.
In this two-way communication, pta meetings are not enough. There should be more meetings weekly or monthly. If possible, home visits and information letters can build-up the relationship. Parents should be know for sure that they can reach the teacher whenever they need, whenever a problem occurs. If possible, a website can be created to parents follow the progress.
The teacher should be a fair person. Allen Mendler and Dr. Richard Curwin introduced the idea that fair isn’t equal to the education community. in 1988 in the first edition of Discipline With Dignity (an updated, more comprehensive edition). Since then, nearly all of the educators who have used their model have seen remarkable results when resolving a wide range of behavior issues. In start, treating students in a fair – but not equal- way works.
Before I finish my post, I want to say; listen to your students. Care what they say. Care what they think. Have positive relationships with them!
ENGLISH IN EVERY SCHOOL 