I chose the article "The Importance of Teacher-Student Relationships for Adolescents with High Incidence Disabilities" to research because I believe that a teacher-student relationship can affect the student's learning and social skills dramatically. I have a student in my class that often will test the new staff's patience and he has behaviors or tantrums that he had not displayed in awhile. This student has to first build trust with a new staff before he will listen to their commands or respect their space. Also, I believe that in schools or any business, certain personalities do not mesh well together and there is no way to change this fact but only to try and improve communication between each other.
The article states that teacher-student relationships are developed and maintained through a combination of factors that include student background characteristics,teacher characteristics, classroom and school characteristics, as well as family, community, and broader social influence (Piante, pg.106). We all have different cultural backgrounds that may affect our way of living. For example, one of my students does not use utensils to eat at home as a result of a cultural norm. His Occupational Therapist was not aware of this fact until meeting with the parents and they decided to eliminate his current goal of cutting with utensils because it was not a realistic goal for him.
Factors that contribute to a good re-pore between student and teacher include the following: an organized classroom, teacher beliefs, and the student's individual skills. To elaborate, the teacher can organize their classroom by making sure that the schedule is clearly listed for the students to reduce any anxiety about upcoming events. The teacher can also eliminate any distracting features or colors in the classroom. A teacher's beliefs may also effect the teacher-student relationship because the teacher can communicate their high expectations of the students and provide positive feedback and praise to the students. A student's individual skills can also effect the teacher-student relationship. For example, does the student have self-management skills in stressful situations? Can the student produce responsible decision-making skills?
Overall, I thought this was a great read to learn about all of the factors that contribute to a good teacher-student relationship and to also reflect on my own experiences forming a bond with my students. I have a female student that refused to transition to the bathroom with any other staff but me. She would drop to the ground and had tantrum behaviors. However, I was not always available to take her to the restroom so I developed a Social Story to explain to her that there were other teachers that could take her to the bathroom and Ms. Lauren would not always be available. I also explained her bathroom routine to my staff and certain jokes or conversation pieces we shared that might allow her to warm up to my staff. Allowing a student to communicate with their teachers and learning that student's abilities and needs can prove to strengthen the bond between teacher and student.
Murray.C.,Pianta.R., The Importance of Teacher-Student Relationships for Adolescents with High-Incidence Disabilities. (1978) Pg.105-110.
Great article! I see a couple of us read this article and I think it is a great choice. We really can't underestimate the importance of a positive student and teacher relationship. I think this relationship is important at all levels. I know in my doctoral program, I tend to want to work harder in the classes in which I feel my professors have a vested interest in my success and in me personally. This was a very thorough and well-written blog post, well done!
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