THE TEACHER EQUATION

What kind of teacher are you?

Some stereotypes

Are you being yourself in the classroom or are you acting? How is your rapport with your students? These and many other questions are the ones that a good teacher should reflect on when thinking about him or herself as a professional. Teachers need to think about what kind of relation they want to have with the students. Is it going to be close or distant? Are you going to be yourself or are you going to create the character of “the Teacher”?

Students see in the teacher figure a role model. Therefore, our impact on them is much bigger than some of us could have ever thought.  Two strong points of view are present in this matter. On the one hand, we have the natural perspective, in which the teacher acts just the way he/she is. On the other hand, we can find the teacher who plays a role or a character so the students cannot see what is behind the mask. We need to bear in mind that depending on the school in which we are teaching we can be demanded to act in a specific way. That means that we have to represent, somehow, what the school symbolizes for the society. For instance, if it is a religious school which promotes certain values and behaviors. In my opinion, it is necessary to find a balance which allows us to be ourselves but respecting and promoting certain values. We need to remember that we are a vital example for children. For that matter, when we are the teacher, we are not being ourselves completely. That’s why I agree with that quotation up to a point.

“A stage on which to perform … A show to present … An audience watching your every move …A character to step into … When you are on that stage, ‘being’ the teacher, you’re not playing yourself”

Sue Cowley (from “Classroom Management Techniques” by Susana Martinez)

Kreber identifies six dimensions of authenticity (from “Authenticity in Teaching” by Weimer, 2011). These dimensions are:

• Being sincere, candid, or honest – “When students look at the teacher, they see a genuine reflection of that teacher’s personal identity”.
• Being true to oneself – Teachers are committed to teaching and its educational goals. “Authenticity here finds expression in consistency between values and actions”.
• Being true to oneself – In this case it means that teachers should use their own knowledge to build their identity, notwithstanding other people’s expectations.
• Acting in the interests of learners – The teacher must look beyond; students are his/her first priority and he wants them to develop all their skills.
• Care for the subject – Teachers should create connections between subjects and students, making the first ones meaningful for the second ones.
• A process of becoming – Teachers have to be critic with their teaching practices, revising everything they have done and their purposes.

These Kreber’s dimensions to build teacher’s authenticity can be taken as a model. However, a “teaching identity” can be shaped by students who have strong needs for a teacher to reflect a certain image, but it can also be created by a teacher who cannot separate personality from their professional environment.

Authenticity is directly related to rapport. Being yourself with your students creates a bond. Children can feel when someone is warm and close or distant and cold. They feel more attached to the first kind of teachers and they feel more confident with them. Children spend many hours in the school. Can’t we at least make them feel comfortable in a welcoming classroom with a welcoming teacher? Of course, if somebody’s personality is cold and distant he/she may think whether creating a “teacher identity”.

Rapport is defined as:

“The quality of the relationship in a classroom: teacher-student and student-student. It is not primarily technique-driven, but grows naturally when people like each other and get on together”.

Scrivener (from “Classroom Management Techniques” by Susana Martinez)

Some techniques recommended to build rapport being authentic by Martin, S. are:

• Don’t try to be a teacher. You already are the teacher, just be real.
• Have real conversations. Do not pretend like they do not know what is going on. Children are much more perceptive that some may think.
• Don’t pretend omniscience. Come on, you do not know everything. So do not strut around like you did.
• Be wary of staffroom advice. Your peers can give you the best advice. They may have more experience or different formation and experiences and can offer you a different point of view.
• Be appropriately authoritative. Be yourself, but your authoritative self. Sometimes it is necessary to remind who is in charge. It is you who controls the classroom and nobody else.

In short, if you are the best yourself you can be for your students, they will feel closed to you and more confident. You can create a great bond and a better rapport.

I hope you find this post useful. Thanks for reading =)

References

Martín, S. “Classroom Management Techniques – The Teacher”, 2014

Weimer M. “Authenticity in Teaching”. Magna Publications. October 2, 2011. Web June 03, 2014