Developmental relationships are built 1 student at a time, but that's hard to do when you have more than 1 student in your class. To help teachers in @RPS535 and beyond meet that challenge, here are tips for connecting with a student a day for the 1st month of the school year:
Day 1: NURTURE SPARKS: Ask a student about the interests and talents that bring joy and meaning to their lives and share your spark with the student.
Day 2: EXPRESS AFFECTION: Tell a student something specific that you like about them.
Day 3: REALLY FOCUS: When you are talking to a student, don’t multitask or glance at your phone.
Day 4: AFFIRM CULTURE: Learn how a student defines their culture and what they value about their cultural background.
Day 5: AFFIRM VALUES: Ask a student about the rules of life that they strive to live by.
Day 6: ASK HOW THEY ARE: Ask a student how they are doing, regardless of how they seem to be doing based on external appearances.
Day 7: PROBE DEEPER: Ask a student a follow-up question so they know you’re paying attention and are genuinely interested in what they are saying.
Day 8: COMMUNICATE COMMITMENT: Tell a student about a time when you thought about them when they weren’t with you.
Day 9: FUTURE SELF: Help a student imagine their future self by asking them to think and talk about what they want their lives to be like in the future.
Day 10: ENCOURAGE CRITICAL THINKING: Ask a student an open-ended question for which there is no “right answer”.
Day 11: SHARE YOUR STORY: Tell a student why you choose to do the work you do.
Day 12: SHOW UP: Show up at an event that matters in a student’s life, whether it be a competition or a concert.
Day 13: VALIDATE FEELINGS: Identify a student who is struggling with something in your class and validate their feelings even as you encourage them to continue the struggle.
Day 14: PROVIDE FEEDBACK: Give a student specific and constructive feedback. Go beyond “good job”.
Day 15: SHARE MISTAKES: Tell a student about a mistake that you made in your life and what you learned from it.
Day 16: LET THEM TEACH: Ask a student to teach you something about a subject, skill, or activity they care about.
Day 17: CREATE CONNECTIONS: Help a student identify people and organizations that can help them solve their problems and/or achieve their dreams.
Day 18: BREAKDOWN STEPS: Help a student understand that solving big problems usually requires breaking them down into smaller steps.
Day 19: GIVE CHOICES: Provide a student with multiple choices among a limited set of options (all of which should be good options).
Day 20: SHARE HEROES: Tell a student who your heroes are and ask who their heroes are.
Day 21: BROADEN PERSPECTIVES: Encourage a student to watch, listen to, or read something new.
Day 22: SUPPORT STRUGGLE: Tell a student understand that smart is not what they are, it’s what they work to become, and that struggle makes them smarter.
Day 23: ASK ABOUT PURPOSE: Ask a student what they want to achieve in the world and validate their response.
Day 24: REFRAME PROBLEMS: Help a student see a negative situation in more positive terms.
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