How Can I Best Love My Students?

As a future teacher, especially in a public school, it seems like it would be hard to get to know all of your students in a personal way. The more outgoing, lively students are more likely to get most of your attention rather they try to or not; whereas, more shy, quiet students are going to avoid attention from you and from others. I know this because i used to be that quiet student. I felt like I was alone and ignored in school but I didn't know how to change it. I think it's our job as teachers to not only teach our students but to love them, as if they were our own children, because in a sense they are. I am interested to see in what ways are teachers diving into this issue and meeting their goal to REALLY KNOW each student and love on them in a personal way and meet needs that they have, even if only in small ways or on certain occassions. Is that even possible? With a class of, say, 25 students, how could you interact with them and create a family-like atmosphere that makes learning fun and ministers to the needs of children?

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Permalink Reply by Morgan Leigh Hobbs on February 3, 2014 at 10:12pm

Meredith,

I completely agree with your thoughts on the issue of not having the time and ability to truly get to know the students personally. From what I have noticed in classrooms, the teachers that I have seen make it their goal to reach each student's needs, at least twice a day relating to not only the daily school work but in their personal needs. It is saddening to think that there are classrooms and teachers that are not open to being compassionate and loving towards their students, but I also think that there are a great deal of teachers who love their students and seek to help them grow as learners and as individuals. I think it's important to make the most out of the eight hours that a student spends in their classroom environment.

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Permalink Reply by Amber Rupert on February 4, 2014 at 8:51am

Meredith,
This is something I have thought about a lot, so I started asking around to a couple of teachers to get some ideas. One teacher told me that it was impossible, and you would drive yourself crazy trying to accomplish getting to know each and everyone of your students. I find this to be a lie, and a very sad one at that. So i started thinking of ways to accomplish it! I think my favorite one thus far is to greet them each morning. I will have some morning work for each student, and as they do their morning work I will make it a point to walk around and address each student asking how their night was, if they had problems with homework, etc. Maybe I will have to get to class earlier to make sure I have time for this, but what is a small sacrifice if it changes our students? If I can take a few extra minutes to make a student feel loved and cared for, then what is a couple extra minutes of sleep? I am glad that you are willing to take a step out to figure out ways to achieve this as well! Maybe we can start a revolution in the Education industry....or maybe we can just make a difference in the lives of our students!

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Permalink Reply by Dorothy Hastings on February 4, 2014 at 9:57am

Be creative. A truly great teacher knows how to creatively convey the message in a way that will relate to the realities and current events of his/her students.

Set rules. Setting ground rules does not mean you have to be a dictator, it just means that you have to be a good manager.

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Permalink Reply by Abby Michels on February 6, 2014 at 2:33pm

I feel like it's so hard to reach out to the shyer students. But it is so important! I know personally that is something I need to work on. We can learn even more from our shyer students than our more outgoing ones. They may have more knowledge than we know. By reaching out we can see what they are "hiding" or not telling us. Creating a relationship with ALL of our students will make the classroom environment feel more "family-like."

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Permalink Reply by alex zemla on February 8, 2014 at 3:11pm

Meredith,

I am doing my student teaching next semester, and I have this same question as you to. I am want going for a secondary degree in mathematics. With a lot more students then an elementary school teacher, I thought this goal would be impossible. After doing some observation hours at a high school, I watched a teacher who know everyone by name, and something personal about them. He was asking question that I would never ask some of my students. After talking to this teacher, he said that you need just need to be friendly and listen to all your students when they talk. I thought this will help because this is going to help me out when I start teaching.

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Permalink Reply by Alicia Francisco on February 20, 2014 at 4:15pm

I, myself, am a pre-service teacher. I also have been wondering about this. But I've volunteering at the elementary and this as really helped. Getting to the know the students, which takes time, with help. From there you can personalize their education. My fear before I ha spent sometime in classrooms was wanting to be the best could be from the beginning. Making mistakes can only help us in the long run.