RELATING TO STUDENTS
It is so important for teachers to be aware of their students mental, emotional, and physical needs. Although they are not parents, they act as care givers and prominent adult figures in the life of each student in their classroom. Because of this, we have provided practical steps to better understand your students and be in tune to their needs.
HUG CHART
A great way to respect the boundaries of each individual child while still offering support is to create a hug chart. This is a chart or list of different forms of physical touch: hug, high five, knuckles, hand shake, wave, etc. Before walking into the classroom in the morning, the student picks the form of physical touch they want and the teacher is there to respond to their need. This gives the teacher the ability to listen and respond directly to each youth equally in the way that they desire.
EMOTION CLIPS
For any age group, these emotion clips are a great way to gauge where your students are at. On the door, keep a list of emotions: happy, excited, angry, lonely, tired etc. Provide each student with a clothes pin with their name on it. Every day, each student moves his or her pin to the emotion which best describes them that morning.
WORDS OF WARNING
Be aware of physical touch boundaries. It is important to respect the space of the student and never force physical touch upon a youth. If you ever observe physical boundaries being crossed by a teacher, be sure to follow the appropriate steps to report the incident.
WALK AND TALK
KEEP IN MIND
If a student is coming to you with psychological struggles or needs be sure to refer them to a school counselor.
Even if you are not calling on or having a conversation with every student every day, it is important to at minimum be physically be around each youth. A great, subtle way to do this is by walking around and between desks while teaching. It also is a good way to monitor the classroom and keep students focused on the subject at hand.
LISTEN
Teachers are some of the more influential and important adults in the lives of children. Some students will not want to talk or share about their struggles, but some come to trust teachers as adult figures who care for them. In these situations, it is important to be willing to set aside a moment of time to listen. One interaction like this can make an enormous impact on the individual.