Only ONE Chance...Relationships Really DO Matter

This summer I had the opportunity to do something that I've never done before, teach summer school Chemistry for credit (in another district).  The most interesting part of the journey was that each student had a different reason as to why they were there.  Some students were getting ahead on credits, while others were retaking it to earn their required credits of Chemistry for graduation.  Within the students that were retaking it, each had a different story about their previous experience(s).  The ones that concerned me the most were the ones in which students expressed challenges in regards to relationships with their teacher.

I had a challenge ahead of me.  I had one opportunity (only 20 days), to get to know each student, and to create a relationship to help them find their strengths and experience success in Chemistry.  During this experience, I realized even more the importance of personalized learning in engaging all students in their learning.  During my second semester class I had a few students that were there retaking the course, but they were awesome chemistry students and needed a challenge.  At times I was able to push them ahead and give them more challenging learning objectives, while at other times, they helped me tremendously and served as additional teachers in the room.  At the end of the course, I made time to call home and connect with the parents of each of those students because I was proud of them for their leadership that they exhibited in the class.  One parent I was not able to reach, but I was able to leave a message.

I received an email back from that parent thanking me for pushing her child ahead, as he was going to be taking AP Chemistry in the upcoming school year. The part that hit home was this: "He was excited everyday to go to summer school because you made him feel important. Having the opportunity to help others gave him so much joy." The key word was IMPORTANT. He was excited to come to summer school because he felt important.

I challenge you along with myself this upcoming school year to find opportunities to make students feel important.  This summer teaching experience for me was life changing.  It made me rethink all of my challenging relationships that I had with students in the past.  

Three main points were clear from this experience:

1.  Each child deserves an opportunity to feel important.

2.  We owe it to all of our students to move forward on the personalized learning continuum.  They deserve it!

3.  Relationships are key to building confidence in students.  I can say with extreme excitement that WE ALL PASSED!


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