It is essential to gain the trust and respect of the students in the classroom. To do that effectively, a teacher must learn their students’ names. Learning and remembering simple things about them to build rapport is an excellent way to gain the respect and trust of the students. A perfect way to learn about the student’s background and history is to send them home with an “About you” page to fill out and give back to the teacher the next day. It can include activities that they like, their birthday, and contact information so the teacher can quickly contact the students’ parents if something is amiss.
Having a classroom where the students have set expectations is critical. Daily routines are an excellent way to establish good habits. It’s also important to have rewards and discipline that are well outlined and expected, so the students know what will happen if they miss an assignment or misbehave in class.
It’s also essential to ensure that the students feel like they can be themselves in the classroom. In any school where creativity is encouraged, having students become their authentic selves can help bolster their creative juices and help them become more engaged with the lessons. Remembering that children are people is a vital part of the learning process, and knowing that students cannot necessarily check their frowns or bad days at the door of the classroom can help build a rapport between the teacher and the student. That doesn’t mean allowing the student’s feelings to disrupt the classroom but instead allowing them to use their feelings in their creative processes to a healthy degree.