Learning is Risky
Connected Communicators Know Trust is Crucial.
We all know the critical nature of strong relationships, and yet there are precious few resources for how to actually build these relationships. In our book, Connecting Through Conversation, A Playbook for Talking with Students, we share that in order to build what we call Connected Relationships for Learning, there are three components that must be firmly in place. You must listen well, treat all with dignity, and have a foundation of trust. We refer to this as the Connected Relationships for Learning Formula. Here, we are going to dive a little deeper into the critical component of trust.
Students Must Trust Us to Learn From Us
Why is trust so crucial? We have to remember that students take risks every time they learn. Part of learning is wrestling with hard things, making mistakes, learning from them, and trying again. Think about the last time you learned how to do something new. We are going to guess it wasn’t a super comfortable experience. It rarely is! After all, it is scary to make mistakes when you are on your own, much less when you are in front of peers. Yet, we ask students to take this risk every single day. In order for students to take this leap, they must know that we have their back. Put simply, students must trust us to learn from us. So, how do we earn their trust? We have to be trustworthy. Trustworthy educators are predictable, consistent & kind, impeccable with their word, competent, and maintain physical & emotional safety within the school environment. So, let's dive into each one.
Trustworthy Adults Are:
Predictable: Students need to know what to expect when they enter the schoolhouse door. There are routines they can count on, policies that are explained and consistently enforced, and cues to know what to do when. Simple, yet critical things, like having the agenda or a visual schedule, having a warm-up routine, being clear on grading policies and classroom expectations are all critical to maintain predictability.
Consistent & Kind: This means students are never wondering which version of the educator is showing up. You are consistent in your responses, are not quick to anger, and do not play favorites amongst your students. Even when you are having a rough day, students can count on you to be consistently kind.
Impeccable with Their Word: This simply means that if you say you are going to do something, you do it. You follow through on your commitments, and don’t make promises you can’t keep. We encourage you strongly to under-promise and over-deliver! When life happens and something does not go to plan, it is critical that you own it, and apologize in order to maintain trust.
Competent: Students know when they are not learning. They have to know that you are good at your job and always striving to improve your own practice.
Maintain Physical & Emotional Safety: Students have to know if there was an emergency, you have a plan and would do what you need to in order to keep them safe. They must trust you will not allow an atmosphere where they could get physically injured by another student. Just as critical, they have to believe that you will keep them emotionally safe. This means that you do not tolerate and immediately interrupt incidents of bullying, harassment, racism, or any other type of prejudice within the school environment.
Thank You
Students must trust us to learn from us. Educators must demonstrate they are a safe adult worthy of their students’ trust. Without trust, the vulnerability required for learning is simply too risky for most students to take. We encourage you to do a self-reflection on the areas above and see where you might want to focus more attention. Building trust is forever a work in progress and is something we can lose in an instant, so it requires our constant vigilance. Thank you for being a trusted adult in the lives of your students!
If you would like to explore more strategies to support positive student behavior, download the free resource guide here.
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