Adolescent Psychology
Adolescents are constantly evaluating the adults around them. Research on teacher-student relationships shows that students are silently asking a set of questions every day: Does this person care about me? Do they respect me? Are they fair? Do they know how to help me learn?
This early in the term, students are still evaluating the answers to these questions. And they’re not subtle about it. If you look very closely, you can see the thinking gears turning behind their eyes.
Consider: What do you think their answers would be about you thus far?
All humans equate “I care about you” with time spent. Adolescents are no different, and they’ve learned to trust time spent – especially time spent voluntarily – as a sign that the adults in their lives care about them.
Instruction
There are a few simple things you can do to show students you care. One of them is dead simple – and it also serves to position you to reinforce classroom expectations. Spend as little time in your chair as possible.
It’s pretty typical for a teacher to teach and then turn the kids loose on an assignment. And that’s understandable, because the paperwork burden on teachers has never been higher (and sometimes you need to sit down and get it done, so no judgment for those moments). But every moment the teacher spends with a student builds the student/teacher relationship.
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Circulate through, asking how the work is going. And how their weekend was. Stop and talk for a minute. Being there with the kids (especially when they know you don’t have to be) will show them you care.
Technology
Sometimes an emoji captures your feelings much better than words can. Whether it’s laughter 🤣, a shrug 🤷, or outright tears 😭, a picture really might be worth a thousand words. Even if you’re not a fan of emojis, we communicate with kids – and emojis are in their native language.
But how do you insert emojis on a Windows machine?
On your computer, hold the Windows button and hit period. It brings up a nice little menu you can use to insert emojis. Put them in emails, on Canvas, or wherever else your heart desires. 🥰
One warning: Don’t use too many or you’ll look like ChatGPT. 🤣