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Posted on October 13, 2015 5:25 pm
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Sarah Drake
Sarah Drake
Reps: 100
Establishing rapport with more and more
This year I breathed a sigh of relief when I learned my class sizes would be smaller. So instead of 180 students, I have 155; that's progress, right? So one significant dilemma is how to establish a rapport with so many students in a relatively short amount of time, so they respect you and the learning environment.
One new activity I implemented this year was a student survey, which included more than just questions about students' past experiences with reading and writing. This year, I asked them about their lives and if they had any questions for me. If they asked me a question, I wrote a note back responding to their question. If they didn't ask one, I commented on something else they wrote and tried to make a personal connection.
Eight weeks in, I feel I know my students better and have had fewer behavior problems compared to last year. Yes, it was a lot of working writing that many notes, but the payoff was worth it. Case in point- one student who rolled her eyes at my jokes for 3 straight days at the start of the year changed her attitude shortly after receiving my note back. In my note, I told her that when I was her age, my parents split up, just like her, and as a result, I didn't get to see my father very often either. She wrote me a note back and thanked me for letting her know because she felt like the only one who had to go through that. Those hours I spent in August are paying dividends now!
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Comments posted for this Tip: 5

PumuMu
PumuMu
Reps: 203
I love this, Thanks for the tip
  Posted on: October 13, 2015 6:39 pm

eSyTyt
eSyTyt
Reps: 101
Great tip
  Posted on: October 16, 2015 1:30 am

eVaVeH
eVaVeH
Reps: 105
I really like this.
  Posted on: October 17, 2015 3:40 pm

Lynn Krivoruchka
Lynn Krivoruchka
Reps: 295
I will keep this in mind! Thank you for the great tip.
  Posted on: March 5, 2017 4:45 pm

ysyByg
ysyByg
Reps: 200
Good ideas.
  Posted on: October 8, 2017 11:08 pm

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