Involved and Connected With Students
Being at a small school (C1 by Nebraska Standards) I have the unique ability to be able to be connected to all students in the school, even though that I only teach 8th graders. There are a few ways that I am able to be involved and connect with students, not just during the summer time though!
For example, this summer I have been involved with varsity and JV sports in boys basketball and volleyball where I am in the weight room with them to get them ready for the upcoming season, driving school vans full of student athletes to camps around neighboring towns which is always an interesting experience. We are able to talk about goals for what they want for themselves as an individual in their sport as well as what they want for their team. These conversations are great because you have an idea of how to seriously connect with them during the mid season and tough practices. Besides sports though, I am big into talking about college plans, wether it has to do with sports or not. It is easy for me because I just graduated from Doane and know what it is like, with all the questions, all the curiosity, all of the unknowns and I can help guide them at least a little to make them more comfortable with taking their education to another level.
As a teacher though, where it is even more important to engage and interact with students, I have been able to connect with them in different ways. At our school, we have hall duty where I can talk with students in the morning, greet them as they come into the building and be sure that at least the first thing they see in the morning is someone who is glad they are at school. Another thing that I am involved with at our school is Middle School student council. This is a great way for me to connect with the 8th graders that I already have, but also the 7th graders that I have not had through the year, but that I will have in the following year. We are able to plan ideas to make the school better using fundraisers and activities to raise money. This allows us a group to work together in making money like working concession stand during a football game or cleaning the highway next to our school, where we can have fun and get something done at the same time!
Last thing, and probably one of the best things I have ever done in college in my opinion. I was a Teammate for a Crete middle school student who had a rough home life and I was around for him for a couple years. Something like this was a very eye opening experience for me because I was able to help out someone who was a student that didn’t have a great home life and wasn’t involved by his parents. We still stay in contact and he has another Teammate but like I said, something about helping a student through the rough patches of life, including school and social problems, is a great feeling as a teacher. We connected by the sports he played in Middle school, including football and basketball, and also connected through Xbox video games. Something as easy and simple as that made him open up and allowed me to build an awesome and trusting relationship. I can continue to talk and guide my buddy from Crete even though I am an hour away and I can have the same relationship as I do with these students here at my school that I help with during the summer and school year.
