Why building relationships is the key to classroom management

The research on the value of building positive student-teacher relationships is clear.  Making the effort to connect with your students is one of the most important things you can do as a teacher. Building strong relationships can help prevent behavior issues before they start.

Showing your students that you care enough to learn about something that they love and showing your students’ parents that you’re invested in their child’s success are two  of the best ways to strengthen your classroom management and support home-school collaboration. Keep reading to get more  tips to help you foster those essential relationships.

3 Tips For Building Positive Student-Teacher Relationships

Tip #1 – Greet Each Student With A Smile

Smile. Simple, right? Maybe not.

My first year of teaching, I worked in a self-contained classroom with a group of 10 kiddos with emotional and behavior challenges. There were days when I had to purposefully make myself smile at a child who had already had three fits that day when he pulled it together.

However, it was so important that I did this, because the student needed to know that while I didn’t like his choices, I liked him as a person. When kids know you care about them and don’t hold grudges, they begin to WANT to make you happy.

For many of these kids, school has been a place where the grown-ups are just waiting for the next time they screw up. It starts a vicious cycle of disconnect, but you can be the one to change this.

Yes, you might have to fake it at first…especially on those days where a child has found EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. of your buttons.

Just keep trying!

Tip #2 – Get To Know Your Students

Find out what makes ’em tick. Another super simple way to connect and start building positive student-teacher relationships is to find out what that child is interested in and learn about it.

Am I a huge Minecraft fan? …Nope!

However, I know more about the game than I care to admit because last year one of my challenging students LOVED it!

I also know about football, and Pokémon cards…and, well, you get the point.

Every year your most challenging student might have a different passion than the previous one.

It is worth every second of time you spend learning to be able to have a meaningful discussion with that child about something they LOVE because it opens the door to a discussion about something you LOVE…them making good choices.

Tip#3 – Develop A Positive Teacher/Parent Relationship

Don’t forget the family! My first few years of teaching, I didn’t realize how important this one really was. Yes, I worked to connect with families, but I didn’t truly understand what that meant in terms of my challenging students.

For some of these families, the only calls they have received from the school are about bad behavior or how their child is struggling.

Instead, focus on turning this around. Even when I am calling about something negative, I always open with the fact that their child has so much potential…or I can tell how smart she is…or something positive.

By cushioning my concerns in a positive wrapper, the parent sees I am not out to get their child and that if we can turn this around, their child will be doing great things.

I also send positive postcards, where I point out something that the child has done well or improved on. These show up as a surprise in the mail…and parents love them as much as the kids do.

Do you have tips on building relationships with students that works wonder in your class? Please leave a comment below, I would love to know!