Emily Plumley - Jan/Feb Blog - Routman, Ch. 2 - Bond with Your Students

I really enjoyed reading this chapter on bonding with your students. This is something that's so important as a teacher, but being reminded of it sometimes can truly open your eyes a little wider to just how TRULY important it is. If you don't have a relationship with your students, they won't learn hardly anything while they're in your classroom. I once heard someone say, "Kids don't learn from people they don't like," and oh how true that is. You have to bond with your kids to help with teaching them. And if you have a bond with your students and relationships with them, it will make so many things in the classroom run so much smoother.

Routman gave 6 suggestions in this chapter that I believe are great suggestions!
1. Ensure early success for every child.
      - I think it's very important to let children know from day 1 that you expect success and greatness from every one of them. I believe that that can motivate them to believe in themselves, knowing that I believe in them.
2. Model respect.
      - This is so important. Some children have no idea what respect looks like! This is so sad, but happens too often. If you want children to learn what respect should look like, you have to model if for them, whether you're talking to students or adults.
3. Encourage shared decision making.
       - Throughout a school year, the classroom people become your "school family". This is something that I try to emphasize each school year, but I could do a much better job at it. In the future, I want my students to know without a doubt that our classroom is their home away from home and their "safe place". I want my students to lean on each other like siblings, and support each other like best friends. When it comes to making decisions in the classroom, I would love to allow students to help with decisions (when it's applicable). That helps students feel an ownership to their classroom.
4. Tell the stories of your life.
       - My students LOVE hearing about my life outside of school. Whether it's about my husband Steven, my dog Sadie, my parents, or just trips I've been on. When I tell them a story about Mrs. Plumley away from school, I can see their eyes light up and I can tell that they are hanging on my every word. I believe that sharing stories from my personal life, will encourage students to know that they can come to me with stories from their personal life too.
5. Read stories aloud.
       - YES! Growing up in school, I always loved read alouds! It was my favorite part of the day and always looked forward to it. I often would buy the same book and read it with my mom each night, staying a chapter ahead of the class. Read alouds are something I want to do MORE of in my classroom. I was pretty good last year about doing a read aloud every day. I had a set time for it, and the kids always begged me to read "just one more chapter Mrs. Plumley". But this year, I'm sad to say that I have not been as diligent with my read aloud time. In the future, I hope to improve on this so that we can try and have that time as a class immersed in a book everyday.
6. Learn about their reading lives at home.
       - This is something I never truly thought about, but it makes so much sense. I grew up in a home where my parents were always reading, and always encouraging me to curl up with a good book and read. Because of this, I developed a love for reading early, and I enjoyed reading in school.Silent reading time was one of my favorite parts of the day. However, some children may not have much exposure to reading at home. By finding out about students reading lives at home, I can find out the best way to help them in the classroom with their reading.

Bonding with your students means so much more than just "How was your weekend?" It's getting to know your students in every aspect, including their reading lives. One example I have of bonding with students over reading happened a couple months ago. Before Christmas, two of my students read the book "Serafina and the Black Cloak" and it caught my attention since it takes place at Biltmore Estate. I absolutely LOVE Biltmore! So I desperately wanted to read this book. I read it over Christmas break and finished it in 2-3 days!! I went back to school talking about this book a lot. Shortly after, at least half of my class was reading the book! Either they had checked it out from the library or asked their parents to buy it from them. They were just as hooked as I was, and I could tell they loved knowing they were reading a book that their teacher had read and enjoyed, just like them.