Walking into the first day of school and meeting a teacher you have never met is a common fear among all students. The fear of a harsh grader or strict rules on leaving the classroom plagues a student’s mind throughout the whole class. Teachers hold a significant influence over the students they teach. Teachers are performers with the most impressionable audience. With sweeping legislation across America banning books and implementing regulations on what students can be taught, having a strong relationship with students is more vital than ever. For many students across the country, classrooms can become sanctuaries where they can safely feel comfortable with a teacher and their peers.
As the job of a teacher has evolved, so has the impact on students. Studies prove that students respond to teachers who can treat them with respect and dignity. The National Library of Medicine reported the statements from students about the positive aspects of certain teachers and how they helped students grow, “‘He treated me with respect and was interested in helping and supporting me’… ‘He was able to keep us engaged in his lessons, think, and ask good questions’;” Students like it when teachers remember how to interact with students on their level. It has even been reported by the University of Missouri, College for Education and Human Development that even one positive relationship with a teacher can promote a student’s academic success if they feel they are being valued.
When asking students at DHS who their favorite teachers have been, the answers spanned all across the building. Gabrielly Araujo and Haley Merrill both said that one of their favorite teachers was Ms. Grant, with many more anonymous votes for Grant as well. When surveying students across all four grades at DHS, almost every teacher was mentioned. Ms. Nesi, Mr. Altieri, Mr. Staffieri, Mr. Esposito, Mrs. Mohs, Mrs. Javier, Mr. Hitchcock, Mr. Euchcner, Mr. Pascarelli, Ms. Kaufman, and Mr. Savoyski, just to name a few. The consensus among many students at DHS shows how important feeling comfortable they are in the classroom of a teacher.
After surveying students across the school about their favorite teacher, four names came up consistently. Mr. Esposito, Ms. Grant, Mr. Steady, and Ms. Stankiewicz. Speaking with all of them, there were lots of perspectives on teaching and the importance of having a good teacher. “It’s vital to understand the human part of teaching,” Esposito reiterated that the line between student and teacher is very strong, but “if we forget that we are human, we forget we are teaching other humans.” A similar sentiment is shared by Steady, who explains that his intention is to “treat students like young adults.” The importance of having students feel safe in classrooms was brought up, Stankiewicz says, “It is the most important thing—the comfort of the students in her classroom.” Esposito concurs with this by saying, “Students should feel like they have a person in their corner when they are at school.” Grant continues to add that “It is so important to me [that a student is comfortable]… I really like to create a relationship with kids to make them feel comfortable, and feel like I am a person they can come to.”
School must be a safe place to learn and make mistakes. School should never be a place where students come and fear what they are going to be taught and who will be teaching them.
