Students Care to Learn When They Learn You Care

Years ago I walked into a classroom of a retired teacher who had come back to teach one advanced class temporarily. He had a poster that said "Students will care to learn when they learn that you care." I've always remembered that and have given it the time test, and it's totally true. I've made it a practice to always talk to students who are misbehaving in my classes one on one, to try and understand how and what they are feeling.

Tom Daly's fourth helpful hint is called "Walk and Talk." This is the practice of taking students who are behavior problems and spending one on one time with them for 10 minutes a day, three times a week. The idea is to take a walk and not talk about school, but whatever the student wants to talk about, allowing time to let him/her connect with you. He states that "...when students forge a real connection..." they will usually end up voluntarily telling you why they are misbehaving. Teachers can usually see their grades improve and negative patterns begin to break down.

This is a great idea, but does have some pitfalls. One on one time can be misinterpreted by others and the student as to the teacher's intentions. At the elementary level where walks can be taken in full view of others, might be a safe environment. At the high school level alone time can be strategically unsafe for a teacher's reputation depending on gender of the student and teacher. Also, a high school teacher who sees 120 students or more per day, this is just not practical time wise. A possible way to accomplish this in high school may be to have students drop in during their longer breaks while leaving the door open.