– Swoyan Satyendu, COO, ODM Educational Group
We all have fond memories of at least one of our favourite teachers. Whether it is a teacher who helped you feel a sense of belonging in the classroom, sparked your interest in a new subject, or supported you through your entire school journey with special mentorship, we all remember the teachers who put in extra efforts to create a congenial learning environment and made a remarkable difference in our lives. Studies suggest a strong teacher-student relationship leads to better academic engagement, minimal disruptive behaviour, and higher grades. Likewise, a negative student-teacher relationship can lead to poor student learning outcomes and stunted socioemotional development.
Jhinuk Duttaray, vice-principal (co-academics), ODM Public School, says about her teaching aspirations, “When I was continuing my education, I needed a teacher or mentor who cared for me, and now those teachers are the teachers I idolise and strive to be today.” As students’ comfort level plays a defining role in their success, they perform well academically at school when they feel comfortable in a safe learning environment with their teachers. As a parent, you must encourage your children to build a strong connection with their teachers so that they feel comfortable and experience schooling at its best. Even if you know your child is special, and their teachers need to know them personally to see everything that makes them special, a collaborative effort from teachers, parents, and students will be required to make students feel valued and build trust, which lays a strong foundation for a lifelong student-teacher connection.
Teachers, Students & Parents – Formulation of Triumvirate Collaboration
At ODM, we understand that it takes a group of highly intelligent individuals to help students reach their fullest potential and grow into independent, confident, productive, and most of all happy adults. The path to future success of every student depends on a triumvirate of collaboration and support between students, teachers and parents. Each member of the triad needs to fulfill its responsibilities in a student’s journey of learning and growth. Backed by decades of research, real-time case handling, and education industry experience, we at ODM have been able to develop a comprehensive map for establishment of a strong parent-student-teacher relationship, following which students feel a great sense of belonging in their learning environment and build the confidence required to establish a lasting connection with their teachers as well as others they interact with through their life journey.
Compared to online schools, teachers continuing with offline classes will always have greater opportunities to build lasting and authentic relationships with their students. Teachers can spend more one-on-one time with each student apart from the class sessions, following which they can know the personal needs of their students and tailor lessons based on their student’s individual study requirements. At both ODM Public School and ODM Global School, we have initiated multiple academic and co-academic programmes to promote a strong student-teacher connection, i.e.
* Special Mentorship Program & Dedicated Mentor for each Student
* SHPI – Student’s Holistic Performance Index
* Interactive Classroom Presentation
* Daily Curriculum Plan (DCP) for Students & Parents
* Mandatory Access to Doubt Clearing Portal
* Special Offline and Online Doubt Clearing Sessions
* Individualised Growth Portal for Students
* One-on-One Student-Teacher Discussion Session
* Monthly Parent-Mentor Interaction Sessions
Allowing Teachers to Know Their Students
Understanding that each student has a unique personality could be the starting point to building a positive relationship with students. Teachers should know about their students’ likes and dislikes, their preferred careers and streams, and their interaction style, which are definitely going to lead to more positive interactions with students. Allowing teachers to know their students will help them build a personal connection with students about topics that really matter to them. This will help students to understand that their teachers really care about them. With proper knowledge of their students’ interests, teachers can easily personalise lessons that will be highly effective for students on an individual level. Following this, students will build more trust in their teachers, thus being more helpful to students when they face problems or don’t understand a lesson. With trust, students will have more confidence and less fear when they face hurdles.
More Peer-to-Peer Interactions
Students need to stay connected to their classmates for an enhanced classroom experience and better socio-emotional development. Teachers should initiate programmes and encourage students to participate more in group discussions, after school clubs and online study sessions with their peers and teachers. Students are more comfortable when they feel connected, and peer-to-peer interactions are incredibly important to build that connection.
Importance of a Parent’s Role
Parents need to work side-by-side with teachers to support students and make sure they are making comfortable progress in their studies. We need to remember that parents are the strongest advocates and biggest motivators of students. Parents should help students to seek out opportunities to interact with them as well as teachers and make sure they attend every teacher-led session. They need to offer positive words of encouragement to their children to build up their confidence and help them feel more comfortable during roleplay exercises, practice sessions and doubt clearing classes.
Finally…A Student’s Role
Our advice for students will be to take active participation in their learning and make continuous progress with their lessons. Students can build a strong connection with teachers by regularly participating in class, attending extra sessions, and showing interest in the subject matter. In addition, parents should encourage students to discuss the subjects being taught in class with their teachers, be kind to peers, support others, respect relationships, and participate in group activities.
We believe that every student deserves to have someone special at school and at home who cares about them enough to start an intentional positive connection with them that gives students an excellent space to make mistakes, accept them and learn from them. If you truly expect your students to excel, then start valuing your connection with them and build a bond that grows with time and stays forever.
