The Master Teacher Blog

We know that the environment within which learning occurs matters. The right environments can encourage and facilitate learning, while environments filled with conflict, fear, and confusion can have the opposite effect. As we approach the midpoint in the school year, now is a good time to step back and consider what is working well, what may need attention and adjustment, and what may need to be abandoned and replaced.  

A good place to start is to conduct a scan of how well the current operation of your classroom reflects your hopes, expectations, and priorities across nine key aspects of operation. Here are questions to stimulate and support your reflection:  

• Instructional strategies: How well are instructional strategies aligned to individual student readiness and needs? Do classroom activities regularly include variety, novelty, humor, voice, and choice? How well informed are students of their progress? How frequent, timely, and effective is the learning feedback students receive?  
• Learning focus: How consistently are students actively engaged in their learning? Are students more focused on learning or on grades? How often do students set goals for their learning? How frequently do students have opportunities to review and reinforce previous learning?  
• Learning Progress: Whose learning is on track, and who is falling behind? What recognition and encouragement do successful students need now? What supports are available and accessed by students who are struggling? What role do students play in monitoring their progress? How might students become more involved in and accountable for monitoring their progress?  
• Emotional climate: What is the emotional tenor in your classroom? What is the level of worry, fear, and stress? What might be done to lower the levels of emotion that may interfere with learning? How anxious or stressed are you?  
• Relationships: How strong and stable are your relationships with students? Do students seek you out when they have academic and personal concerns and struggles? Do students accept, support, and encourage each other? Have families bought in to your course expectations and goals? 
• Management activities: How well are classroom routines addressing transitions, learning activities, and student behavior challenges? In what areas do you still have to remind students of routines and expectations? How frequently are you able to anticipate potential issues or problems and take steps to prevent their emergence? What opportunities exist to make better use of time?  
• Behavioral issues: What types of behavior issues are you finding to be most frequent and disruptive? What have you tried that has been effective in moving students to more acceptable behavior? Where do you struggle most with behavior issues? How are you ensuring that all students are treated equitably? Where might you access support to expand your strategies, receive coaching, or other types of assistance?  
• Technology use: How integrated is available technology with learning activities? What is the balance of student engagement with technology as consumers, appliers, and creators? What opportunities exist for students to use technology to extend their learning beyond simply consuming information and regurgitating it? 
• Physical supports: How well does the arrangement of classroom furniture reflect student learning and engagement goals? Is the room aesthetically pleasing and reflective of the cultures and demographics of students? Are supplies, materials, and equipment organized and readily accessible?  

Obviously, there may be many aspects of your classroom environment that deserve attention. However, be careful not to become overwhelmed. Choose a few areas on which to focus. Meanwhile, do not forget to pause and reflect on what is working well, lessons you have learned, and successes you have achieved. 

We may not think much about the concept of awe. When we do, though, we likely associate it with grand works of nature, like the Grand Canyon or Mount Everest, or incredible displays of power, such as lightning strikes or hurricanes. Or we may associate awe with magnificent works of art or jaw-dropping acts of compassion or skill. Of course, the stimuli of the experience we know as awe are varied, and they are not all as grand or stunning as these examples. 

Experts note that the feeling of awe can be stimulated by vastness that is difficult to comprehend, challenges to what we have thought or assumed, and exceptional acts of human virtue and ability. We can be awestruck while walking in nature, observing an act of kindness, or hearing a new piece of music.  

While experiencing awe can be surprising and delightful, it also holds significant benefits for our mental and emotional health. Researchers describe awe as an emotion like joy, contentment, and love, but it is separate from each of these. Experiencing awe has been shown to reduce anxiety, calm the nervous system, and increase our ability to cope with stress. Experiencing awe stimulates the release of oxytocin, often called the “love hormone.” 

Importantly, experiencing awe does not have to be expensive. Nor does it require travel to a far-off place or demand extra time and planning. We can make awe-filled experiences, and their associated benefits, a frequent presence in our lives. Here are five common circumstances in which we can discover and experience awe: 

• We are fully present. Our attention is completely given to what is happening, free from distractions.  
• We notice and are open to what is happening around us. Awe can be experienced in almost any place if we just look for and notice it in our surroundings. 
• We look for the goodness in others. People engage in awe-inspiring behaviors more frequently than we may assume. Common people do uncommon things for other people far more often than is noticed.  
• We expose ourselves to art, music, science, and other experiences that stimulate our emotions, offer astonishing surprises, and capture our imagination. 
• We try something new and unfamiliar. First-time experiences can expose us to new thinking and novel ideas, expose us to opportunities, and open doors of possibility and surprise.  

Awe can also be a powerful tool for stimulating learning to which students will commit and long remember. Consider how awe might be a part of the learning we offer to students: 

• What concepts in math, science, or other subjects might we use to challenge the assumptions and beliefs students bring with them? 

• What stories of compassion, kindness, and sacrifice might stimulate an interest in and growing commitment to an upcoming topic of study?  
• How might art, music, or dance provide a unique perspective on a learning challenge or social problem?  
• How might we tap the wonders of nature to illustrate the vastness of the universe and the intricacy of a blooming flower?  
• How might we inspire awe as our students observe the power of relationships and valuing of each other? 

Use your imagination to add to this list and create awe in the learning experiences of your students. It’s totally worth it!

We want our students to have an experience with us that is memorable and impactful. We want them to look back on their time with us with warmth, pride, pleasure, and gratitude. However, such experiences usually do not just happen. The conditions necessary to generate exceptional experiences are created, nurtured, and protected.  

We also know that the conditions that engender these lifelong memories and feelings lead to high levels of learning, build confidence, and sustain engagement. Fortuitously, most of the factors that comprise these conditions are within our control; they do not necessarily require special expertise, exceptional technical knowledge, or unusual interpersonal skills. That being said, creating these conditions does require thought, persistence, and some specific beliefs. Here are five mindsets we can adopt that will position our students to thrive.   

Every student needs to feel included and supported. A sense of belonging is a powerful driving force for learning and behavior. Students who feel they are a part of a caring, supportive community are more likely to take learning risks, give their best effort, and persist in the face of setbacks. Students who feel the care and concern of adults in their lives are less likely to persistently act out and resist behavior expectations and guidance. Feeling included and supported sets the stage for engagement and success.  

Every student has the capacity to do better. Some students come to us with a record of high achievement and learning success. Others come with a history of struggle and lack of expected progress. Still, other students bring with them a trail of reasonable effort and moderate success. Regardless of their history, every student has the potential to do better and be better than their current performance indicates. When we approach every student with the mindset that greater success is in their future, good things almost always happen. Students can feel our confidence and expectations. Consequently, we can nudge and encourage students to reach higher and expect more from themselves.  

Students who misbehave still want to succeed. Some students may have experiences that lead them to wonder if success is even possible for them. They may believe that the “system” is not working for them, and they may have good reason to doubt. Still, everyone wants to be successful, even if their definitions and hopes of success vary. We need to resist being misled by the behavior we see. How we see our students drives what we say and what we do in response to them. This can be a challenge, but we must refuse to give up. Our power resides in our refusal to assume that students cannot change. If we remain steadfast in our belief, we will see the results we anticipate. 

I am the person who will make the difference for my students. Each of us can probably think of a teacher, coach, or other adult who had an outsized influence in our lives. These are special people to us, but for the most part, they are just regular people who chose to take an interest, expect more, and push us in ways we might not have expected of ourselves. Yet, their influence can be lifelong. We should not believe this special experience is reserved for someone else. We can be that person for our students. We are the key to making change happen. 

My enthusiasm is contagious. Excitement, curiosity, and wonder are difficult emotions to resist. We might worry that students will think that our energy is lame, and they may not respond. However, if we are sincere, even students who initially may resist and scoff still can be “infected” with our positivity. We need not be hesitant, or even measured, in our enthusiasm. It can ignite learning energy and create momentum. Before long, we can shift from creating energy to managing and guiding it. One thing is certain, a lack of enthusiasm is not what we want students to catch.  

Admittedly, teaching can be frustrating, difficult, and draining. Yet, few other professions offer the opportunity to change lives in such a profound manner. We nurture skills, instill attitudes, build character, spark hope, and form what can be lifelong relationships. We have within our reach the power to free students to thrive.

Listening is easily taken for granted. After all, it feels as though we do it almost all the time. Yet, listening is one of the most underrated and underdeveloped skills among professionals—and just about everyone else. Listening is a crucial element in forming relationships, solving problems, making decisions, and performing many other work and life tasks.  

Listening is a near-constant element in our work with students, colleagues, parents, friends, and family. It is worth doing well. However, it is easy to compromise listening effectiveness and ignore key elements of listening that could lead to better communication, stronger relationships, and greater influence on others. Such mistakes can be costly. Here are six facets of deep listening worth heeding.  

Commit to hearing, not just listening. Hearing represents deeper engagement than just receiving and understanding words. Really hearing someone means seeking meaning, implications, and emotions in and behind what they say. We may think that when others are speaking, we are just receiving their message. However, we are likely confirming, rejecting, or leading the speaker to modify the message as we listen. Communication experts say that more than half of communication is transmitted through body language, not through what is spoken. Consequently, even though we may not be speaking, we are still communicating.  

Engage fully. Obviously, we need to put down our phone or anything else that might interrupt or distract us from what is being said. We may think that we are paying full attention, but if we are also doing something else, the message we communicate may be one of less-than-full attention and commitment to the conversation. Equally important, we need to drop our assumptions and set aside our emotions. Perceptions, predictions, and predispositions can color what we hear and how we interpret the message. Only by giving our full attention can we prevent mishearing, misinterpreting, and misfiring in our response. 

Listen to learn. One of the most difficult challenges associated with listening is to avoid forming a comment, defense, solution, or other response while the other person is still speaking. Doing these things risks missing key portions of the message or misinterpreting the intent of what is being said. When we commit to learning from what is said, we are likely to absorb information that will better inform and calibrate our response when it is time to provide one. Of course, if we need some time to formulate a response, we can employ a few seconds of silence and allow the message to settle.  

Repetition is a signal. It is not unusual for people to repeat themselves when reporting an experience, sharing a message, or recounting a conversation. Repetition can be an indication of something important. Sometimes repetition is intended to emphasize something emotional about the message. At other times, repetition is an indication that the speaker is not feeling heard or is feeling that we do not fully understand the implications of what is being said. When we notice repetition, it is worth noting and asking if the speaker wants to say more about that aspect of the message.  

Silence is powerful. Accomplished interviewers and skilled interrogators understand the power of silence. Silence, even for a few seconds, can have a powerful effect on conversations. Silence can be an invitation to continue speaking. It can imply and "give voice,” so to speak, for deep emotion. Silence can even communicate skepticism and doubt. Regardless, most people feel a powerful urge to fill gaps of silence. When we resist the urge to interrupt and are willing to sit quietly, we can often learn far more important information than if we choose to ask an immediate question or offer an immediate response. 

Confirm what is said. The best way to know if we have accurately heard and interpreted what was said is to confirm it with the speaker. Of course, as we confirm, we are also assuring the speaker that we have been listening. Confirmation can take multiple forms. We can confirm what we heard by repeating what was said (“I heard you say…”). We can also summarize what we heard to confirm our understanding of the full message (“In summary, it sounds as though…”). Or we can interpret what we hear to confirm themes and implications (“Would it be correct to interpret what you are saying as…”). 

Listening is one of the most powerful ways to communicate respect. We don’t always have to have answers or guidance to offer. Often, just being willing to listen can make a crucial difference. Practice these six strategies, and you may be amazed at the impact.  

This is a time of year when we are especially cautious about catching colds, contracting the flu, and avoiding other germ-generated illnesses. With winter approaching, most of us are spending more time indoors and near others who may be spreading germs that can make us sick. Consequently, we may be more vulnerable to contagions.  

Fortunately, most of us know the steps to take in order to minimize the potential of getting sick. We maintain an appropriate distance from people who are coughing and sneezing, we wash our hands and hard surfaces regularly, and we are careful to get enough sleep to keep our resistance high.  

Still, we may be less aware of another source of contagion that can influence our well-being... Experts and researchers have long known that emotions, too, can be contagious; in fact, they call this phenomenon Emotional Contagion (EC). Transmission can happen in ways remarkably similar to how germs are spread. For example, prolonged proximity to someone who is experiencing and displaying strong emotions can increase the probability of their transmitting those emotions to us. The state of our own emotions can make us more vulnerable to “catching” the emotions of others. When we are tired, frustrated, or depressed, our emotional vulnerability increases. Furthermore, some people are naturally more vulnerable to catching the emotions of others.  

Unfortunately, EC has implications for more than our mood. Negative emotions we catch from others can lead to depression, increased anxiety, insomnia, and even heart disease. Put simply, prolonged exposure to negative emotions can damage our psychological and physical health.  

On the other hand, contracting the emotions of another is not always bad. In fact, many emotions lift our spirits, renew our energy, and build connections with others. Being around people who are consistently happy, optimistic, confident, and loving can lead to us feeling similarly. The bad news there, though, is that negative emotions, such as anger, pain, fear, and disgust, tend to be more contagious than positive feelings. They can be caught more quickly and have a greater, longer lasting impact than positive emotions. Our evolutionary history makes us more conscious of and susceptible to potential threats, even though the threats may be emotional rather than physical. 

The good news is that we can influence the level of vulnerability we have to the emotions of others. Sometimes we seek to protect ourselves from what others in proximity to us are emoting. Other times, we want to catch the emotions we see and feel in others. Like with germs, there are steps we can take to decrease or increase our chances of becoming infected by emotions. 

To reduce our vulnerability to negative emotions, we can: 

• Be aware of people and situations that have a negative impact on our emotions. Awareness can be a good first step in diagnosing the source of negative emotions and making choices to protect ourselves.  
• Limit the amount of time we spend with people who are chronically “infected” with negative emotions. When avoidance is not possible, we can at least take “attitude breaks” to focus on and engage in issues, topics, and experiences that lift our mood and counter the negativity to which we are being exposed.  
• Speak with a person whose chronic emotional state is having a negative impact on us. Not everyone is aware of the attitude and mood patterns they display. Sometimes just making someone aware of their behavior and its impact can lead to change. 

• Choose to be positive despite the negative emotions to which we are exposed. Over time, consciously emoting positivity, being optimistic, and showing care can have an impact on others, rather than allowing ourselves to be susceptible to the emotions to which they expose us.  
• Take care of ourselves. Steps we take to counter vulnerability to germs can also help to protect us from negative emotions. Getting enough sleep and regular exercise and having a healthy diet can serve both purposes.  

If we want to increase the likelihood of “catching” the positive, healthy emotions of others, we can: 

• Increase the amount of time we spend and interact with people who are positive, confident, and caring, especially people about whom we care the most. People with whom we have close relationships are more likely to influence how we feel.  
• Intentionally respond to the emotions we want to “catch.” For example, when we respond to the smiles of others, we engage muscles that release endorphins in our brain that lead us to feel happier. 
• Be a source of positive emotions. Other people who are attracted to positive emotions will be more likely to engage and share their positivity with us.  
• Structure time in gatherings, such as meetings, to share good news, positive experiences, and uplifting stories. What is shared can set a positive tone, push back negative attitudes, and reduce vulnerability.  

Emotions, like germs, can influence our health and well-being. We need to be alert and deliberate in how we respond to exposure—whether we avoid it or invite it. We can allow ourselves to be vulnerable or protect ourselves from harm. 

Teachers, feel free to share this concept with your students and foster a positive and constructive conversation about emotional self-preservation! 

Mental health is a serious and persistent issue in our schools and our profession. The toll of multiple pressures and accumulated experiences from the past few years has left a heavy burden on our sense of well-being, our attitudes toward life and each other, and even our physical health.  

We hear a lot about the importance of self-care, finding balance, and “taking the long view.” While good advice, such urgings can fall short of countering the emotional burdens we carry. We often need more support than we can manage on our own.  

Fortunately, there is a powerful counterforce to the feelings of frustration, isolation, and loneliness that threaten to sap our energy, dissipate our motivation, and undermine our commitment. That connecting, energizing, and reassuring force is the presence and practice of empathy.     

Empathy, of course, is different from sympathy. Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone’s circumstance or having someone feel sorry for us. Sympathy is not a strong connector. Empathy, on the other hand, involves understanding and sharing the experiences, perceptions, and feelings of others. Empathy builds an emotional and cognitive connection.   

Empathy also offers mutual benefits. The person who is experiencing empathy from others feels supported, understood, and cared for. At the same time, the person who is extending empathy experiences the benefits of connecting with and helping others. When people feel connected, understood, and respected, they are more likely to be motivated and emotionally healthy. Let’s explore six additional ways in which empathy can support our mental health. 

First, empathy builds trust. It allows us to be authentic and transparent. Empathy seeks understanding, not confirmation of our predispositions, and can reveal the positive intentions of others while dispelling suspicions and negative assumptions about others’ motivations and actions.  

Second, empathy helps to form and maintain relationships. It builds a sense of connectedness and understanding and nurtures feelings of belonging. Empathy can carry relationships through tough times, even when we may be caught in conflict and disagreement. 

Third, empathy reduces levels of anger and frustration. By being empathetic, we can see and value the perspectives of others. Empathy can replace hostility with understanding, and it can counter the toll that chronic anger takes on our mental health.  

Fourth, empathy can help us to discover solutions to challenges and conflicts. The quality of being empathetic supports communication that is more open and creative. Empathy opens doors to mutual understanding; solutions can emerge naturally from open, honest, and respectful exploration.  

Fifth, empathy can help us to become more resilient. As we understand the experiences and perspectives of others, we can become more aware of and better able to regulate our own emotions. The experiences of others also can be an inspiration and lead us to higher levels of courage and determination.     

Sixth, practicing empathy with others can support us to be more self-empathetic. We can be exceedingly hard on ourselves, especially during times of challenges and stress. When we consistently extend empathy to others, it can become easier to pause, reflect, and build self-understanding. It can even lead us to forgive ourselves when we otherwise may become trapped in guilt.  

Of course, we need to recognize that there are limits to the depth and breadth of the empathy we extend. At times, we may need to set limits to avoid becoming overly immersed in the emotions and struggles of others. Like any behavior, too much of a good thing can diminish its benefits and counter its contributions to our health and success. Empathy is no exception, but practicing it wisely can be its own form of mental-health protection. 

Popular discourse has transformed the perceptions of many behaviors that are typically seen as positive to being considered toxic. Being positive, for example, is usually considered an asset. Gratitude is often seen as a powerful way to lift and heal our spirit. Empathy is typically valued as a powerful way to connect with and support each other.  

Nevertheless, each of these actions has been described in one context or another as being toxic. Consider: 

• Toxic positivity: Refusal to be anything but positive, regardless of circumstances; it may even imply criticism of anyone who does not share the same attitude.  
• Toxic gratitude: Being grateful to the point of accepting less-than-acceptable circumstances and lacking desire to change what could be improved.  
• Toxic empathy: Becoming so enmeshed in the circumstances and challenges of others that one loses a sense of themselves and is unable to separate one’s emotions from others’. 

Of course, the implication here is obvious. When taken to an extreme, even positive attributes can become problematic—to the point of even being harmful. On the other hand, too little positivity, gratitude, empathy, and other actions and interactions can also be harmful and hurtful. We need to strive for balance and for boundaries that ensure their benefits while avoiding potential problems and pitfalls.  

Meanwhile, psychologists caution against the quickness with which we label behaviors as being toxic. A recent Psychology Today article notes that it is human nature for us to be more attuned to negative cues, such as threats and danger, in our environment than we are to positive cues, such as rewards and success. The result is that we can become preoccupied with negativity, to the extent that it interferes with our thoughts, moods, actions, and interactions.  

When we connect positive actions and attributes with negative ideas such as toxicity, we risk avoiding engagement in what should be healthy, happiness-generating activities. We need to be careful to reserve such descriptions for extreme instances and behavior. Labeling behavior as toxic or any other equally negative description needs to be done with care and restraint.  

Consider the behavior most frequently referred to as being toxic: positivity. Choosing to be positive, to see the positive side of situations, and looking for opportunities in difficult circumstances can be an important contributor to happiness, contentment, and success. Positivity can be a powerful antidote to stress, anxiety, and depression when it is not carried to extremes.  

We need to be careful to honor and respect behaviors like positivity, gratefulness, empathy, and others. In a world of challenges and uncertainty, we can ill-afford to denigrate and shun what can protect our mental health and make our lives more fulfilling. We just need to be aware of the importance of boundaries and balance while embracing the benefits.  

Travers, M. (2021, February 23). Why “toxic positivity” is a dangerous idea. Psychology Today.  

Success requires that we choose to say “yes” to some things and “no” to others. The key is to know how to prioritize, what to invest in, and what to refuse or abandon. Of course, the best choices are not always clear or obvious, and sometimes we cannot know the right answer except in retrospect.  

Fortunately, there are some important decisions and impactful commitments we face that are clear—and our choices are significant. In fact, they can be life changing for our students and success-drivers for us. In our work with students, there are five choices we must never, ever make: 

• Never give up on a student. Some students may choose to give up on themselves, but they need to know that we will be there for—and never give up on—them. We will always look for ways to help them to succeed. For too many students, our decision to give up on them may take away their last hope. We need to continue searching and supporting their learning, as well as their growth as a person, and nudging them to believe and keep trying. 

• Never assume a student is not worthy. Not only do some students believe that they are not worthy, but other adults may also think that a student is not deserving of attention and advocacy. Of course, some students may do their best to convince us by their behavior that they are not worth our nudging, pressing, and pushing. However, every student who comes to us has worth. Our challenge is to recognize their worthiness, nurture their potential, and help them to see that they can be more than they assume or imagine. We cannot accept arguments or behaviors that try to convince us otherwise.  

• Never accept that a student is not capable. It is true that students come with varying levels of background knowledge, skill, curiosity, and commitment. However, we cannot know what a student might be capable of accomplishing under the right conditions and with our support. Our role is to find the gifts and talents students possess and nurture them. We must magnify and extend the interests and insights students have already developed, and we need to be the constant reminder and "revealer" of their progress and possibility.  

• Never believe a student’s past determines their future. Each and every one of our students come to us with their own unique back story. They may have a history of misbehavior, a record of failure, and a litany of complaints about them. Yet, the story of their future remains unwritten. We may be the influence and intervention that will change the course of their lives. We have the incredible opportunity to influence our students’ lives when most of their lives have yet to be lived. Every small shift in thinking, commitment, and hope we instill in our students today can make an outsized difference in their future.  

• Never allow students to accept less than their best. Our students are already worthy and capable. Our role is to challenge them to give effort that is worthy of them. Of course, students rely heavily on our expectations, and we need to keep those expectations high. But our goal needs to be for students to adopt attitudes, invest effort, and engage in thinking that demands their best from themselves. The four choices discussed above position us to support our students to give their best, accept only their best, and achieve beyond what they may believe is possible.  

When our students feel our commitment to these five crucial promises, we become the catalyst for students to trust without fear, try without hesitation, fail without despair, and soar with confidence in our support. There are no limits to what they can achieve. 

Teaching is a “long game.” We are in it for the long haul, and naturally, we want to be certain that we are paying attention to the signs and signals that tell us we are on the right track. Even though we may have bad days or go through tough patches in our work, we still seek reassurance that we are focused on the right things and remain on a path to success.  

Of course, there are many paths to success, and there are various ways in which our attention and focus can become distracted. If fact, there are several consistent indicators that trouble likely lies ahead. Here are five signs that your teaching may be headed “off the rails.” 

You are more concerned about whether students like you than whether they are challenged. It is only natural that we want our students to like us, and, yes, we need to develop strong, positive relationships with them. After all, relationships are the precursor to learning. Yet, while having good relationships can lead to learning, they are not themselves the point of learning. When we become preoccupied with whether students like us, we risk losing our focus on challenging and nudging students to learn, even when it may be uncomfortable and hard. In fact, during students’ most difficult learning challenges, they may not feel as though they like us very much. The good news is that once students find their way through tough times, they often respect and value their relationship with us even more.  

Your highest priority is being in control. Of course, we cannot manage a classroom that is constantly out of control. Student safety and learning depend on our ability to maintain an appropriate level of organization, focus, and cooperation. However, when control becomes our dominant focus and an inordinate amount of our time and attention are given to evoking compliance, learning and relationships suffer. On the other hand, when we create conditions where students are invited and supported to commit to their learning and where respect and trust are present, our worry about control can retreat into the background.  

You believe that you are the smartest person in the room. While we may have more education and life experience than our students, there is still a great deal they can teach us. We do not have a corner on ideas and insights. In fact, the unexpected or even seemingly off-topic questions students ask can reflect surprising levels of intelligence and insight and open doors to new learning for everyone, including us. The fact that some of our students have high levels of intellectual capacity and may go on to make significant contributions to society is cause for celebration and appreciation, not competition or intimidation.  

You allow the bad behavior of some students to go unchallenged. Students want assurance that they will be treated fairly. They want to know that the standards of behavior to which they are held apply to everyone, and they watch carefully to see if the rules we set will be applied equally. If some students are given special treatment or are allowed to engage in behavior that is not tolerated when others demonstrate that behavior, feelings of resentment can quickly build, and accusations of unfairness will soon follow. Of course, some students may face special circumstances that require more variation in how we respond. Within the bounds of privacy, we need to help classmates understand the circumstances when reasonable adaptations are necessary.  

You are the last person to hear when something happens in students’ lives. When something out of the ordinary happens in the life of our students—good or bad—they are often quick to share their news with those they trust, which should include us. Similarly, other students who are aware of the news often rush to tell us. If students are not motivated to share this type of news with us, we need to pay attention. When students know that we care, they want to let us know what happens in their lives so that we can share in the celebration or mobilize the support we can provide. If we are the last to hear, it is time to figure out why.  

Teaching provides us with amazing opportunities to have an impact on the lives of our students. However, we need to be sure that our expectations and behavior preserve and protect our influence and keep our teaching “on the rails” and in a good place.