This week has been an important reminder to me about how important it is to communicate openly in the classroom and how important it is to think of the students as whole people, who are affected by thier lives outside the classroom. We have two kids who are going through some serious family challenges this week--one has a grandfather who is in the hospital after a heart-attack and another who's father is moving out. The good part of this is that both students felt comfortable and even wanted to share their situations right away in the morning. One chose to talk to Diane and I during morning work time privately and the other chose to share this during our morning meeting. It was really helpful to know about these situations going into the day because, not surprisingly it had an affect on both boys' behaviors. I tried to maintain reasonable expectations on both cases but also remember to be empathetic as well to the fact that the kids were having a rough day.
One thing I admire most about Diane is her ability to create this classroom climate where children feel safe to share what is bothering them. At parent night last fall one mother said that over the summer when she and her ex-husband told their child they would be getting a divorce, the child's first reaction was to ask if he could call Ms. Jorde and talk to her about it. I'm trying hard to develop a similar rapport with the kids and I think I have a solid start, but I can only hope to be as good at this someday as Diane.
I just had to comment on this after I read that one student's first reaction was to call Diane and talk to her about their problem. That is so sweet! If you have any suggestions or information on how Diane goes about building these relationships with her students I would be interesting in hearing about it!!
ReplyDeleteI echo Nicole's comment about how much your story tells about Diane's effectiveness as a teacher. So much of our work with students begins with creating that safe environment, and Diane is clearly successful in that area based on what you've told us here. Lucky students, lucky families, and lucky you to be in her orbit. Some of what you're seeing as you work with Diane can't be taught from a textbook, a lecture, or a course assignment. You have to see it unfold, and figure out how what she does creates the classroom climate that you admire (and kids respond to). Thanks for deciding to write about this important dimension of teaching--communication.
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