Needn’t be class warfare
Kudos to Jordan Baker (Good Weekend, 21/10) for the insightful article on classroom management.
All teachers know that the core of classroom management is relational connection. A teacher’s foremost job is to connect, and this is not only the case with at-risk or disengaged youth. Students learn best when they feel known, valued, and respected by both the adults in the school and their peers.
The modern relationship between teacher and student is much more of a partnership, which heightens student engagement. Classrooms that have built community cultures where students are intrinsically motivated and committed to supporting one another are at a significant advantage over stick and carrot behaviourism classes.
Successful classrooms prioritise relationships; those driven by compliance falter.
Cameron Paterson,
director of learning, Wesley College, Prahran
This is a wonderful piece. Yes, as an experienced teacher, creating a healthy, professional relationship with our students often lead to improved performance and better result. A teacher who was about to retire nearly 20 years ago, adviced me in my first year of teaching, and said, "As a teacher, in everything you do, be human". That was the bombshell that laid the platform for mu teaching career. Thank you for the reminder outlined in this article, that teacher-student relationship is vital.