Monday Moanin Thoughts #64 What Do Students Need From Their Teachers?

Happy Monday Moanin to all of you. As the school year begins to wind down, many  students feel pressure and anxiety.  Whether it is a deadline for an assignment or an upcoming science fair project  being due, the end of the year can be a struggle for many learners. In January , I wrote a blog on what students appreciated about their teachers. During late April and early May, learners need their teachers to teach in the same way that was on that January 2013 list.   Below is the blog from January.

Welcome to the latest edition of Monday Moanin thoughts. During last few weeks I have had the opportunity to conduct many one question interviews with learners of all ages. I was interested in finding out what did learners appreciate about their teachers. What made them successful as instructors? Here are some of the comments I received:

• “My teacher is always concerned about all of us and whether we get it.”
• “She is always organized and easy to understand.”
• “I appreciate when they take a personal interest in me and they can relate to all of us.”
• “Personal connection is so important. When I was being bullied in 7th grade, my teacher offered me a safe place and he cared about me.”
• “I appreciated when they take an interest and knew something about me.”
• “I appreciate when you can tell that they like what they are doing. They like their job. It rubs off on me.”
• ” My favorite teacher is engaging and makes science come alive. It is not boring.”
• ” He is always available to all of us and willing to help if we do not understand something.”
• ” She never yells at us or gets mad.”
• ” I appreciate when I am treated with respect and not like a little kid.”
• ” She gives us a choice for certain assignments.”

The importance of teachers establishing a personal connection with the learner, was the most repeated comment from the students.

Many of the student comments listed from January are  critically needed this spring. Lets get to work at making the end of the year  a productive and positive one for all learners.

Have a great week and keep finding the good stuff .