This week for the #EDUin30 question, I asked about how you build relationships in your role with students. The best teachers in the world connect on some personal level with their students. They do not only know their students, but their students know them.
I talked about this in my post to the response to the question:
Be visible, connect, and see time with students as a privilege. #EDUin30 #EDUin30w3 pic.twitter.com/B1RxUnFlPh
— George Couros (@gcouros) March 20, 2015
Honestly, I remember hating doing supervision. Teaching was really overwhelming for me and every minute that I had to myself, I really appreciated. Having to “deal” with kids outside was a pain. Then one of my administrators talked about the “privilege” we had in connecting with kids during that time and that we should see it as an opportunity as opposed to a burden. That totally changed my mindset on it early on my career, and after that, I loved supervision.
After that, I would really connect with kids, talk to them about things happening, play basketball with them outside, and would actually walk back into my class rejuvenated. This was not just kids in my class, but kids all around the school that I did not have the same opportunities to connect with during the day. It became a privilege and an opportunity in my eyes and made my day so much better.
Nothing changed other than my attitude, and sometimes that’s the most important thing.
