Are you ready to start building rapport with students and their families? Does that make you feel excited or nervous- or maybe a bit of both? I don’t know about you, but I think I experience all of those emotions in the first week of school.
Building rapport is so important.
It is the process of developing a connection with others. It is key when building communication. Rapport is built and developed. People want you to earn their trust, building rapport is how you get there. As a teacher, that goes for co-workers, students, and their families.
Some ways to build rapport with co-workers include:
- Learn their name
- Truly listen to them
- Find common ground
- Be empathetic
- Lend a helping hand
ways Building rapport with students :
- Get on their level
- Look at them in their eyes
- Compliment them
- Give them a voice
- Make learning fun but have a structure
Building rapport with the families of your students:
- Smile, like a genuine one
- Find a communication mode
- Ask questions about the child
- Listen to what the parents say
- Share successes of the student
Once rapport is built, it helps lay the foundation for good communication for the school year. Believe me, building rapport with students will help your year go so much smoother! You can leave post-it notes with encouraging words, send post-cards home to celebrate success in the classroom, or set time in your weekly schedule for the students to be celebrated for their accomplishments.
practical ways to build rapport
Some of the ways I begin building rapport with students with families at the beginning of the school year include sending home my “Meet the Case Manager” information sheet. This lets the parents know a little information about me and what I will be doing with their child during the school year.
I also send home a “parent survey”. This opens up an opportunity for the parents to tell me a little bit about their child.
Last, but definitely not least, I use a “My Favs” page to build rapport with my special ed team. This lets me and the rest of my team know each other’s favorite things. It allows us to give each other small “pick-me-up” throughout the year.
Believe me, it goes a LONG way when you are having a rough day, and you walk into your room and have a cold coke-a-cola sitting there waiting on you! School starting back can cause a range of feelings for teachers, parents, and students.
which emotion reflects how you feel?
They may range from
or maybe this one
Can you relate to any of these? No matter how you feel about it or when you start back, the time is coming.
