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Thursday 11 August 2011

How to Connect Effectively to Your Student and Family but Still Maintain Professionalism


One of the most challenging parts in the teaching profession is in how the teacher can connect effectively with students and families while maintaining professionalism. If you are a teacher your role is not confined in the four corners of the classroom; you have to extend way beyond in order to reach out an connect to your students  and families. Teaching is one of the few professions that need a diverse and versatile personality; where the teacher needs to be one person in different personalities who could adapt to different situations where the need arises.
The teacher is usually an adviser, a counselor, a mother, a nurse, a friend and a playmate, especially for the small kids, a sister or a brother to the older students and a colleague to the parents. Above all these, a teacher must always build a good relationship with students and families. Your closeness to your students and families doesn’t mean that you need to disregard your role as a teacher in order to build that relationship. It doesn’t have to be like that at all. What the student and the family needs is a teacher who will also be a friend.
No matter how close you are to the student and his family, you have to maintain professionalism. Being a friend to your student and his family does not mean that you will stoop down as low as being considerate to the student who does not deserve a passing grade. It does not mean that the student will do what he wants and you will bow to his wishes because he and his family have become your friends. No matter how close you are to your student and to his family, you should always keep a space between you so that you can maintain your proper place as a teacher.
Although not all students abuse the teacher’s closeness to them, it is always right as a teacher to maintain professionalism. You cannot allow your student to treat you as his equal by placing his arms around your shoulder while you are walking or inviting you to a drinking spree where they will soon think that you are game. If you allow this to happen, chances are that your students will likely lose their respect to you and treat you like their peers. No matter how close you are to your students, there are always limitations to it. Always bear in mind that you are still the teacher and you should not give away yourself for the sake of friendship.
To maintain the respect they have for you; always keep a good record and do not allow it to be tainted because once your students see something in you that they could use against you, you will be in trouble. The same is true with the families, no matter how close you are to the families, do not overdo it. Keep something for yourself so that people around you will respect and trust you as a teacher.
To develop a better relationship, you should always keep a pleasant personality yet maintain your professionalism as a teacher to your students. The students and their families will be closer to you if you show them that you are a person whom they could rely on and they will respect at the same time. Teachers must always maintain that confidence and not let their students rule over them even if they own half of the school you are teaching. Remember that you were hired to teach in that school and you should maintain that position you got.
Teachers must limit how much they should befriend their students and the students’ family. By doing this, you can be close but they will treat you as a teacher. There is a disadvantage if you let your student completely enter your life. The respect could diminish and there is a tendency that your student could offer you something in exchange of good grades.
This is against the ethics but there are students who develop closeness to their teachers so that they could manipulate and use their teacher to their advantage. You don’t want this to happen of course so keep your profession intact and be a responsible teacher who deserves respect from the students and their families.
In some situations, the student or family could offer lots of things to the teacher in exchange for something that they need in school but this could be avoided if you do not allow bribes to get through your friendship. If your student starts inviting you almost every weekend, you can decline by honestly saying that you are too busy. Learn to say no when things are getting out of hand to protect you from being exploited by your students and families. You should be responsible enough to do what a teacher is supposed to do. Teachers do not mess with their students because they are professionals. It is not bad to be close to students and families but when something fishy starts brewing, the best thing to do is stop before it is too late.


Source : http://factoidz.com  

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