
I like to share stories about the classes I took in college to become a teacher or the fun things, like making new friends and going to sporting events, to get them thinking about college. Students always want to know more about college because, for most of them, it isn’t something talked about at home. Something as simple as hanging a flag of the college you attended by your desk can start the conversation very easily. Being a role model for students can mean many things, and talking about the importance of education is something you can do the first day of school. One day in class, I asked my students to raise their hand if their parents went to college. This shows them that you care about their lives outside of learning in your classroom. Even the kids who act too cool to say hi after their games will come up to you and say, “Miss Curtis, remember when you came to my football game?” during the last week of school. Whenever I go to my students’ events, it is always the first thing they want to share with the class the next day during circle time.

The look on their face when they see you after will make it worth the time it takes up on your Saturday morning. If they are in a play, go watch the performance. If they sing in the school choir, go to the concert. If they play football, go to their games. The second thing is show up to their events. They love to help in the room, and you can chat while doing it. If you like your lunch quiet to work, then you can use this same concept but instead keep two helpers back during specials. It gives them time to talk your ear off for 30 minutes without being interrupted by anyone or anything else. I’ll pick two students who are friends and bring them up to the room. The first is I like to show my students I want to know more about them by inviting them to eat lunch with me in the room. There are two easy things I would suggest to any teacher to really connect with their students. Getting to know what they like, what sports they play, how many siblings they have, their hobbies and more. The next step to building that relationship is to make each student feel like an important part of your class. Students notice the time you put in, and it helps you start to build that relationship with them from the first day of school.

I want students to know how much I care about their learning environment when they walk in my classroom. I love turning corners of my room into places where students can cuddle up on a beanbag chair with a good book. This year, I went with a farmhouse and light blue theme, probably my favorite yet. Show the students you put time into making your classroom for them! When I set my classroom up each August, I like to make it as homey and inviting as possible. One way to start the year off right and make students feel safe and comfortable in your classroom is to make it feel like a home. Some live with grandparents or spend most of their time with them because their parents are working or not capable of caring for them. A lot of them live in a small, run-down apartment or house with more than five children.

#Role models cast teacher free#
For the past two years, I’ve worked in districts that have 100% of students on free and reduced breakfast and lunch. While teachers are role models for all their students, it can be most important for those who have a rough home life. Lastly, as an educator I try and teach my students to be leaders. Showing students how important education is can be hard when they don’t have those role models in their lives outside of school. It is our job as educators to show them that learning is fun, and it can take you to amazing places in your future. There will always be students who don’t like school, and the last thing they want to do is sit there and learn.
#Role models cast teacher how to#
Teaching students how to treat others and how to react in situations and conflict is something I try and do each and every day. I teach at a district where students don’t always have the best role models at home, and the eight hours they spend with me each day means so much. Getting to be a role model for these students has always been something I don’t take lightly. Each day brings new challenges, and each year brings new students. Being a teacher is the best job in the world but also very difficult.
