Blog the Fourth

“Human beings were made for relationships: without a rich and nourishing network of connections, we wither and die.”

— Parker Palmer

Introduction

For most school-aged children in India going to school was a chore, a daily test of mental endurance and emotional resilience. In large classes with sixty-plus students, a teacher’s main mode of maintaining order was intimidation, threats, student humiliation, and shouting. Corporal punishment was not unusual. Statistics show that as recently as 2016 one student in India commits suicide every 55 minutes (Bhattacharya, 2018).

In sharp contrast with the surrounding schools, our small, intimate Christian school had the feeling of a family. Missing a day of school due to illness seemed like a lost privilege. Teachers maintained order through love and respect. Our days began with singing and prayer, and it was always clear that our teachers were there, not to receive a paycheque but out of love for Christ and for the students. Students who struggled to succeed in their previous schools suddenly found they could flourish in this new environment.

At our school, “Relationships formed the foundation for success and focused on a culture of care and wellbeing for students” (ERO, 2014, p. 9). As a result, students’ mental and emotional health flourished, lives were transformed, and those who had transitioned into the school with failing grades from their previous school found they suddenly had the support to succeed.

Teacher-Student and Student-Student Relationships for Learning

Absolum puts it bluntly when he states that the “quality of the relationship between teacher and student is the key to the success of teaching” (Absolum, 2006, p. 48). No one enjoys spending time with, learning from, or teaching someone they do not like. Both “[t]eacher-student and student-student relationships. . .have a significant impact on how the teachers [feel] on a daily basis” (Le Cornu, 2013, p. 4). This means that it is not solely the relationships between teacher and students that has an impact on teaching, the relationships between the students themselves has an impact as well.

I saw this first-hand at Otumoetai College when the dynamics in one of my classes crumbled because a group of students had an internal falling out. The strained relationships within the group affected both the students’ ability to learn and my ability to teach. As a result, I had to put most of my focus the next few lessons into conflict resolution and making reparations where necessary.

Absolum explains that learning-focused relationships develop when your teaching is guided by the principles of openness, respect, and honesty – although I prefer the term integrity (Absolum, 2006).

1. Openness refers to being open with your students about what is happening. In my class this meant acknowledging with the classroom that we were facing challenges in our relationships and that we needed to work on how we were going to move forward. It also meant that I talked through some of my decision-making processes.
2. Respect is reflected in more than the way a teacher speaks with their students, it is also present in how teachers support their students in making informed decisions. A lot of this comes down to clarity, providing options, and manaakitanga. Students need to have some ownership over their education. I tried, whenever possible, to get students actively involved. I sought to provide some choice in lesson tasks, clarifying all the options and inviting questions.
3. Integrity means sticking to the decisions that are made – following through on promises given. At the same time it means that you as a teacher are open to new ideas, to being flexible in changing circumstances, and to always seeking new information. After one lesson my AT had to give me some constructive criticism because I had not followed through on a decision. In consequence, in the next unit I had with the class I prefaced my lesson with an apology and committed to greater integrity in the future.

Learning-focused relationships simultaneously require a loosening of control in some areas, such as in some of the decision-making, and a tightening in others, like in the realm of a teachers’ brain that produces negative thoughts about students’ abilities (Absolum, 2006). When students recognise their teacher is guided by principles of openness, respect, and integrity they are much more likely to engage in the positive trust-based relationships necessary for learning. This involves an investment in time, but in time, these relationships can be transformative.

Teacher-Adult Relationships for Resilience

In addition to positive relationships with their students, teachers need to ensure they do not neglect relationships with other adults as well. Of key importance are relationships with colleagues, relationships with peers (i.e. other beginning teachers), and relationships with family and community (Le Cornu, 2013). These relationships should be what teachers can turn to when they need support, both in the difficult teaching moments and in the times of celebration.

When describing the importance of safe, supportive collegial relationships, Heinemann asserts that teachers “need to make an effort to spend time together” (Heinemann, 2009, p. 10). She also outlines what she describes as the three main hindrances (or ‘bond-busters’) to the development of supportive relationships with colleagues, namely gossip in the workplace, a sense of awkwardness or fear of intimidation, and, quite simply, busyness (Heinemann, 2009).

Maintaining relationships with other beginning teachers may play “a key role in ‘keeping each other going’” through the varying emotions that teaching inspires (Le Cornu, 2013, p. 6). Knowing that other people are going through similar experiences can help you realise that you are neither alone nor crazy. I personally believe that mutual venting can be beneficial provided it does not devolve into gossip (Heinemann, 2009).  

It is important not to allow yourself to become subsumed by teaching. In the Le Cornu study it was found that “resilience was enhanced when the early career teachers were able to retain a strong sense of their personal selves” (Le Cornu, 2013, p. 12). One of the main ways that this personal self can be retained is through sustained relationships outside of the teaching environment. Jackson highlighted this imperative during the English tutoring sessions at BTI, recommending, “Get as much of your marking, report writing – all that stuff – done at school as possible. Don’t spend so much time ‘making connections’ with colleagues that you have to take all your work home. School is for school. Your home is for your family and your own mental health” (A. Jackson, 19 June 2019, tutoring notes).

Relationship with God and Self for Transformation

Le Cornu’s study concluded that “early career teachers who felt empowered were very conscious of the importance of looking after their own wellbeing” (Le Cornu, 2013, p. 7).  Palmer contends that we can only truly be in community if we are first in holistic communion with ourselves: “Community is an outward and visible sign of. . .the flowing of personal identity and integrity into the world of relationships” (Palmer, 2007, k.l. 2031-2032). We teach out of who we are (Palmer, 2007). If we are truly to develop effective, learning-focused relationships with our students we must first be grounded in who we are as individuals. As a Christian teacher, that grounding, that foundation, must be based on who I am in Christ: redeemed, loved, and part of a vast family.

As a result, my number one priority in my daily life must be to make time to commune with God in prayer and in reading His word. 2 Corinthians 3:18 states, “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (NIV). My ability to cultivate a culture of care, manaakitanga, and loving transformation in my classroom is predicated on my willingness to be transformed.

References

Absolum, M. (2010). Clarity in the classroom: using formative assessment for building learning-focused relationships. Winnipeg, MB: Portage & Main Press.

Bhattacharya, A. (January 8, 2018). In India, one student commits suicide every hour. Retrieved from https://qz.com/india/1174057/in-india-one-student-commits-suicide-every-hour/.

Education Review Office (2014). Towards equitable outcomes in secondary schools: Good practice. Wellington, NZ: Crown.

Heinemann, H. (2009). Teacher: Christlike colleague. Christian School Teacher, Fall, 8-10.

Le Cornu, R. (2013). Building early career teacher resilience: The role of relationships. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(4).

Palmer, P. J. (2007). The courage to teach: exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. (10^th Ed.) San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.