Hajer Yahya

TED 2250

Reflection 3: How can I build relationships with and relevance for my

students?

It is our responsibility to get to know our students at different levels,

not only academically, but personally and socially as well. Teachers can build

relationships with students and become relevant to their students in many

ways. The real key to being successful with young students, Jack proclaims,

is listening. You have to listen to these youngsters. Adults dont listen.

Adults have a very bad habit of not listening to young people. He continues,

Preachers dont listen. Police dont listen. Politicians dont listen. Mamas

dont listen. Nobody listenin. So its important to listen, (Watson, 127).

Every community-based educator including Vajra Watson emphasized this

point and encourages us future teachers to do to build relationships with our

students. To listen is the most obvious missing piece in a lot of work.

Teachers and educators do not even know how to listen to young people and

students in general. Listening can make everything culturally relevant in the

classroom; it allows teachers to understand the homes and communities of

the students they are teaching.

The second thing I believe Dr. Watson wants us future teachers to do to

build relationships with our students so our students can have their minds

opened, their opportunities expanded, and their lives changed, is to remain

consistent with high expectations. We have to give students the tools to

successfully navigate their lives. When teachers have high expectations for
students and provide tasks that are engaging and of high interest, students

build self-esteem, increase confidence and improve academic performance.

The third thing we should do to connect with our students is to reach

them. If we can reach young students, we can teach them and relate to

them. Dereca insists that teachers need to have authentic relationships with

their students because a connection makes everything possible and opens

up more achievable results, (Watson, 40). Reaching students is not easy,

but listening to them, believing in them, engaging them, and showing them

care and love will make them become comfortable to open up and talk.