Team Work Makes the Dream Work
Positive attitudes, relationships, and classroom communities are critical for a successful school year, at least from what I have seen thus far. Since the first day of school, my classroom mentor has placed so much emphasis on the importance of building a classroom community within each individual class as well as across all classes in her roster. Her main focus was to establish a supportive, positive space for students to enter each day, and I have found this to have a deep impact on students’ attitudes towards the subject matter. On the first day of school, it was made very clear to the students that regardless of their past experiences in mathematics, this was a fresh start and an opportunity to put forth their best effort. Having this conversation from square one allowed students to appreciate the care that their teacher was investing in each individual and their success over the next nine months.
Having this conversation from square one allowed students to appreciate the care that their teacher was investing in each individual and their success over the next nine months. |
In order for students to establish positive relationships and a classroom community with one another, they must first focus on a positive individual attitude. During the first week of school, the importance of mindset and personal growth was stressed. Carol Dweck’s research on mindset shows that individuals who adapt a growth mindset tend to will themselves towards success through continuous effort and practice. In order to help students believe in this idea, my mentor dedicated an entire class period for an activity that helped students to analyze the mindset they have in math classes and how they plan to attack this school year with a positive, growth mentality. By having this conversation about attitude and work ethic early in the school year, expectations are put into place for the type of classroom community that fosters students’ success. All students know from the first day that they are expected to give 100% effort at all times, and it is their responsibility to try to meet this expectation each day.
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Because my mentor has taken time to establish themes of positivity in the community through expectations of each individual, I feel that my mentor has shown her students an ethic of care. At the end of the second day of school, my classroom mentor knew every student’s first name; of course this was amazing to me as I could only name about a handful correctly. She had taken the time to greet and say goodbye to each student at the door on both the first and second days of school, and her efforts showed in the way the students responded to her. Weinstein and Novodvorsky say that one of the most important ways to show care and respect for students is through learning their names as quickly as possible; this seems to be the case in my mentor’s classroom. By taking the time to create this space where the students feel welcomed and cared for, my mentor has demonstrated some of the ways she is willing to support them within her classroom. I think demonstrating this care is what good student-to-teacher relationships should look like in schools. Being a supportive teacher does not mean favoring individuals or allowing them to take the easy way out; in my opinion, a teacher who has supportive relationships with his or her students institutes high expectations for the students to achieve and is there as a resource in scaffolding their journey to meet these expectations. Creating a positive, safe, and challenging environment has seemed to create immense respect in the relationships between my classroom mentor and her students, and these types of relationships are something I want to try to emulate as a teacher in my own practice.
Weinstein, C., & Novodvorsky, I. (2011). Middle and Secondary Classroom Management: Lessons From Research and Practice (4th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.