Learn the one word that best describes what a teacher needs to connect with students

If you ask any teacher how best to reach a child, the answer will be relationships. No doubt. No hesitation. The solution to the puzzle will always be relationships.

I remember when I was being moved from Hardaway High to Jordan High, people bombarded me with words of warning. You don’t want to go there. Isn’t there another school available? On and on the scare tactics came, prompting me to say a resounding NO! and take my teacher’s editions someplace else. But I’ll never forget what Mr. White, the Jordan principal at the time, told me in my interview. He looked me in the eye, knowing what the rumor mill had told me, aware of the reputation of his school, undaunted by the hopelessness that loomed in the community’s misgivings about 3200 Howard Ave., and shattered any reservations. He said, “Show our kids you care about them, and they’ll do anything you ask.” Translation: relationships.

And it worked. The most rewarding moments of my 19 year career came within the walls of Jordan High School.

It’s not revolutionary. It’s not a new concept that was recently birthed out of expert minds sitting around a thinking lab wondering how to improve our schools. It’s been around since Little House on the Prairie’s Miss Beadle.

Visit any of our schools and watch teachers with their kids. You’ll be inspired and encouraged that our kids are in the hands of some truly amazing teachers, teachers like Mrs. Traci King at Gentian Elementary.

Mrs. King is an expert at forming relationships with her students. They respond to her, listen to her, learn from her, respect her, because they know she cares. They see it in her lesson preparation, they feel it in her hugs, they notice it in her treatment of them.

For instance, take a listen to her class, especially on Fridays. Kids are reading their personal writings to each other. Kids are encouraging each other. Kids are singing songs they’ve made up about personal struggles or triumphs. The familial atmosphere she has created in her fourth grade classroom is profound, and her students are being transformed into kind, loving, and accepting human beings. And when an obstacle arises, Mrs. King and her children overcome it with grace…together, like when a struggling young boy lost control of his emotions. Under the cloud of a negative behavior reputation, the little guy existed in a world of chaos, ill-equipped to handle disappointment, stress, redirection. So, one day, he lost control.

Most teachers would jump and instantly react, often with sharpness. Not Mrs. King. She exhibited patience. Because of her relationship with the young man, she knew him. She knew his triggers, his personality, his heart. And so, she didn’t spring up with panic. She saw his reaction was personal and not directed at anyone in the room, so she calmly continued her lesson. When the young boy realized he was getting no reaction, he finished his fit without incidence and rejoined the lesson. Imagine what she taught the rest of her students that day. Patience. Kindness. Compassion. Acceptance.

Of course, the behavior had to be addressed, so after class and not in front of his peers, Mrs. King had a hefty conversation with the little boy. She asked for his help in writing a letter to his mother informing her of his behavior. He was shocked at the request, but humbly assisted in the retelling.

What a lasting impression Mrs. King made in all of her students that day. The impact she makes in her students’ lives every single day must be amazing. She is cultivating qualities in these young, impressionable human beings that will benefit us all. Wow…what a lesson in relationships.

Sheryl Green is a secondary educator in Columbus. Email her at sherylgreen14@yahoo.com.