Building relationships with learners is by far the most important thing a teacher can do in teaching. Quality of learning will not happen if there is no solid foundation and connections built on trust and respect. However, the value and importance of human connection has never been or rarely discussed why the kids don’t learn.
Admittedly, there are some teachers who have no idea where to start in building relationships with students who come from a different background. Teachers cannot assume that they already know about the experiences of their students based on location, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. Hence, it is important to connect with the learners by talking about their interests, sports, current events, funny stories from their personal life, or anything else they want. When speaking to students about their lives, it is best to remember that their experiences are unique. Proper conversations about their interest can help the teachers to connect with them on a more personal level.
According to James Comer, no significant learning can occur without significant relationships. Even George Washington said that all learning is an understanding relationship. These statements implied that connecting with students can be able for a teacher to teach their students effectively because the trust is already built, and this allows their learners the opportunity to experience their humanness. The right idea of Stephen Covey wherein it is best to seek first to understand as supposed to be understood. Having a frame of mind and heart can make communication work, since the deepest need of the human heart is to be understood. Everyone wants to be respected and valued for whom and what he or she is as an individual.
Raising the self-esteem of a child and his academic achievement at the same time is really challenging for all teachers. Attempting to understand the learners is not a simple process because every child is a unique individual. With this, learners’ potential should not be underestimated. They are like sponges, absorbing everything going on around them. Even every little thing they soak in can be built connections in their brain. Through building rapport with them by mirroring their body posture and gestures, we can make the learning meaningful, and we could create contexts which interest them. One of the best investments we can make with our students is to provide them a positive, understandable, and respectful learning environment.
By: Johanna V. Consunji | Teacher III | Cataning Elementary School
