Tips for Establishing Casual Relationships with Students

 Substitute Teacher Tips

One way of establishing a relationship with a student is to "ask them to volunteer to be the teacher or sub's helper." The teacher or sub can then make direct eye contact with just one student "the one who volunteers for the activity," and try to smile friendly to that student as saying "thank you for being so kind to help me today," or maybe even say it out loud, of which I do, "thanks for your help." there are students who LIKE TO BE THE TEACHER'S HELPER, or the sub's helper. Then there are students who do not. A sub has to determine which works best for those she serves.

Students sometimes feel they are even the sub's pet, if they become her helper, which is "relationship building" with that particular student. However, another process to make it fair to all students may be to just pick a different student each time, so every student has a chance to be the sub's helper or pet for the day.

Some students like to feel special in groups and to the sub.

I think this feeling might be universal, but it might not be a universal thing as everyone is unique in their thoughts and preferences.

Helping someone else should be an honor for the one who volunteers to help.

Little by little, day by day, a teacher or sub can begin a casual teacher/sub to student relationship in this way.

I also ask students, "please raise your hand when I call your name, to help me associate your name with your face, thereby also establishing relationships with students.

Often when I call the student's name, they do respond quickly and sometimes so low I can't hear the response, it is not that I am hard of hearing, it is that the student is not speaking loud enough, and then I am unsure who spoke and what this student looks like, messing up my relationship with them and learning their names as well as "perhaps someone in the crowd was to play a joke on me and say someone else is present when they are not present, and I mark that person as present, when they should be marked absent.

Therefore, I establish a policy to before calling roll, I ask students to please raise your hand when you hear your name called, so I can look up, see the hand, and know for sure that particular students is in the class and I can quickly make an association with that name on the sheet to the student.

No new sub or teacher walks into a classroom for the first time and knows each person by name or face. It takes PLANNING to get to a point of establishing relationships, and putting names to faces. One of my plans is the "opener activity" of the day.

PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND WHEN I CALL YOUR NAME,

and with me, I like to know WHY to anything I am told to do, so I pass this onto those I am asking for anything I want them to do.

I then say, raising your hand HELPS ME ASSOCIATE YOUR NAME TO YOUR FACE.

It is a sub/teacher/student building technique I developed for learning who students are by name and face, plus trying to make direct eye contact with that student, some of them will have their backs turned to you and you cannot see their faces, but for those you do see, you have learned at least WHO THOSE ARE with this technique for the next time you might ACCIDENTALLY fall into their classroom as a sub.

If I have things given me from the regular to pass out, I used the technique of "assuming students like to be the teacher's helper," and students can learn they are actually rewarded for helping others. In my case, the reward will be a special THANK YOU for helping today by passing out our needed materials, and this is the why to why I perform this in classes. However, if this technique is not acceptable, and I have not see any rules about this, then of course, I am well able to pass out all materials for the day.

There is also something to be learned about the sub passing out needed materials herself.

It is that "this sub is in control of this class."

In my mind, it is a toss up of which lesson to teach in the starter activity of "calling roll."

Perhaps if I see I need to use one over the other in behavior that follows my technique of relationship building and rewards for helping others, I will then use the method for "teaching the sub is in control of this group in every aspect."

Many things on the sub's job are a trial and error kind of thing each employee has to learn all by themselves. You won't get it perfect the first day and still will be perfecting techniques on the 10000th day of being a sub.

Many voices in the land.

No voice is without significance.

All voices are unique.