Happy Thanksgiving to all!
I just wanted to fill everyone in on one of the important topics that was discussed on the last day of class. Mr. Price touched on the issue of teacher-student relations and how to maintain an appropriate boundary. Students will be intrigued by young teachers and may even feel attracted to them, but it is our responsibility to be aware of our professional responsibilities. Even if we want to share our wild party stories with our students to try and relate to them, our practicum is not the place to do this. I believe it is useful to consciously prepare yourself for any potential difficult situations and have "lines" prepared to help you safely remove yourself from a situation. One I've heard is you can tell the student, "I respect you, now you need to do the same and respect me."
Does anyone else have any other methods for deferring difficult situations or letting students down gently? Any other concerns or stories about how important it is to establish these boundaries to keep you and your students out of trouble?
Check out this link for more information from Ontario Elementary School teachers. http://www.etfo.ca/AdviceForMembers/PRSMattersBulletins/Pages/Professional%20Boundaries.aspx
Saturday, October 10, 2009
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2 comments:
I just took a quick look at the link provided, and I agree with most of the points which describe how to keep the relationship professional. The only one I would question is the one which states that teachers cannot act as confidantes for students. Although I can understand that this has the possibility to lead to something dangerous, I feel that in order to be a good teacher, our students have to be able to trust us. If we are unwilling to listen to their problems, how can they possibly trust us? And if they cannot trust us, how can they learn from us?
I don't mean to say that teachers should be councilors - we aren't trained as one, nor do we have the time to council all our students - but I do not think if a student approaches us with a problem that we should shut them down or avoid the situation due to fear of overstepping boundaries. That reaction may leave the student feeling disillusioned and alone - and that is something we should try to avoid as teachers.
Any thoughts?
you could make an attempt to create democracy in your classroom ie: have the kids make up the class rules, sign their name to the rules in the classroom and post it. you can remind them that they made a contract with you.
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