Over the past few weeks I have absorbed a lot of valuable information. Relationship building and communication have always been emphasized during my education, and I have experienced first hand how they benefit both me and my students. Over the pat few weeks though, my understanding of relationship building and communication have transformed. I have seen how quickly students fall behind, how some have absent parents and in light of the pandemic, how distance and lack of motivation are hurting students. A lot of my time, more than I ever thought would be, is dedicated to making sure my students are keeping up and succeeding. Even if a particular student is resistant and helping them feels like pulling teeth, I have to push myself to give them the support they need to do their best.
What has worked well in supporting my students is setting up private meetings, being consistent in my communication and reminding, reminding... reminding! Communication with parents/ guardians has also been vital in assisting my students when they are struggling and it's flying under the radar. Typically, parent involvement is effective and results in a change among my students, but sometimes it does not result in any improvements whether it be through a lack of guidance or action from parents or insubordination from the student. What I've realized I need to do differently after observing my mentor teacher is that I have to take it up a notch and push my efforts even farther than what I thought was enough. She has gone as far as to meet students at their places of employment to have discussions, dropped off supplies at their homes and reached out to others in the school like counselors, admin or other teachers that may be able to assist in making progress with individual students. I want to push myself in these ways to better round out my role as my students biggest supporter. It takes a village though, and I can't forget that I'm not alone.
Through all of this learning though, one of my biggest realizations has been the importance of sharing the positives my students demonstrate. When you are spending so much time helping the students who are struggling, it's easy to let the students are going well go unnoticed as well as those students who have improved upon their behavior or work ethic. Letting these students know you notice their accomplishments or changed behavior is extremely valuable not only to them, but to my relationship with them. This type of recognition helps to keep them motivated and let's them know I notice their effort and that their success matters to me because they matter to me! In the future I want to focus on finding balance in practicing communication with all of my students in some form or another so I can be a consistent support system for them. My diligence is vital in this area in order to maintain and achieve good classroom climate and culture. These little layers of support, encouragement and pushes to succeed help students focus in and understand their strengths and weaknesses so they can work to transform into their best selves.
My art piece is inspired by the image of a butterflies wing under a microscope. The tiny scales on their wings are crucial to their ability to fly. I imagine each scale as something I can offer to my students that helps them become independent, strong learners and take flight!
What has worked well in supporting my students is setting up private meetings, being consistent in my communication and reminding, reminding... reminding! Communication with parents/ guardians has also been vital in assisting my students when they are struggling and it's flying under the radar. Typically, parent involvement is effective and results in a change among my students, but sometimes it does not result in any improvements whether it be through a lack of guidance or action from parents or insubordination from the student. What I've realized I need to do differently after observing my mentor teacher is that I have to take it up a notch and push my efforts even farther than what I thought was enough. She has gone as far as to meet students at their places of employment to have discussions, dropped off supplies at their homes and reached out to others in the school like counselors, admin or other teachers that may be able to assist in making progress with individual students. I want to push myself in these ways to better round out my role as my students biggest supporter. It takes a village though, and I can't forget that I'm not alone.
Through all of this learning though, one of my biggest realizations has been the importance of sharing the positives my students demonstrate. When you are spending so much time helping the students who are struggling, it's easy to let the students are going well go unnoticed as well as those students who have improved upon their behavior or work ethic. Letting these students know you notice their accomplishments or changed behavior is extremely valuable not only to them, but to my relationship with them. This type of recognition helps to keep them motivated and let's them know I notice their effort and that their success matters to me because they matter to me! In the future I want to focus on finding balance in practicing communication with all of my students in some form or another so I can be a consistent support system for them. My diligence is vital in this area in order to maintain and achieve good classroom climate and culture. These little layers of support, encouragement and pushes to succeed help students focus in and understand their strengths and weaknesses so they can work to transform into their best selves.
My art piece is inspired by the image of a butterflies wing under a microscope. The tiny scales on their wings are crucial to their ability to fly. I imagine each scale as something I can offer to my students that helps them become independent, strong learners and take flight!
Reference photo of scales on butterfly wings