What are one or two practices you’d like to implement that would allow you to demonstrate your care for and commitment to your students? If you already have practices in place, what are they?

[Austin]

Open door for girls, as a female teacher I don’t like to have a closer relationship with my male high school students.
But with ladies, they know they can talk to me.
I go to their sports games, they are not required for teachers but I like to go and cheer for my students at least 4 times per sport so they know they matter to me beyond the classroom.

When I have lunch duty, I go around the tables talking to my students instead of sitting at the main table with the other teacher.

I give free tutoring lessons on my planning time, I know I can do more but I also understand that I cannot do everything.
The body needs rest so I can wake up the next day with the right attitude to encourage them again.

[Austin]

1.Open door policy
2.Snacks on hand

[Austin]

I asked students in my homeroom students questions related to our focus on devotion for that particular week. Each student also have a journal where they share their thoughts on certain issues and it also serves as a media of communication where we could communicate in private for things they didn’t want to share in public. They were also split into small groups where they can share and pray for one another. I spent 15 minutes time with each individual student during lunch time so I can get to know them better.

[Austin]

I have started girls’ lunch in my course so we can eat together once a week.

[Austin]

Allowing a safe space for them to express their thoughts. Many people learn through dialogue, myself included. Students who learn this way need a space where they know they can discuss their forming opinions without having an adult who is quick to admonish them. Any free minutes we may have can be used for conversation. These free minutes I have caught here and there have been perfect for forming relationships with my students. I ask them questions about themselves, and I open up about myself. Letting my students know about me shows them vulnerability and transparency. When you begin to open up about yourself, they open up about themselves.