Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Risking relationships for the sake of order As a white woman, it take takes a while for some minority students to buy in to the mutual trust/respect needed in class. It has taken first semester to establish a trusting relationship with a group of African American girls in my 11th grade class. Now, we have a really great relationship, however, it seems like they are a bit too relaxed with me. They have a tendency to talk to each other at inappropriate times and often are distracting to others because of this. I've been very patient and have lightheartedly asked them to "bring it back in, girls", etc. to no avail. I have been wrestling with changing their seating arrangement to separate them all. They will be very angry about this. Do I risk it for the sake of order in the class or do I seek an alternative? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) I say 100% yes!!! Order is a must for all students to be successful in your classroom and students must understand when certain behavior is appropriate and where boundaries need to lie. I had similar experiences with minority students in which I teach, specifically a case with a Hispanic student. It literally took months to build a relationship with him in order for to develop trust and communication with me. I developed a great rapport with him but then he began displaying that same type of behavior as above in class. I finally reached the point in which I had to pull him aside after class to address the situation. After explaining my concern he did become defensive but once I explained the disappointment I had in him with his behavior and explained the amount of respect I had for him, he immediately became remorseful because he did not want to disappoint me. In fact, he began asking me on a daily basis how I thought he performed in class that day!