Humans are so much more than they can appear to be.

Teachers only see a sneak

peek of what students are really like. I believe that people put on “faces” for others.
Depending on the audience, their face will change accordingly. People's lives can be
messy, but at the same time so beautiful. It takes intentionality to fully appreciate the
beauty of the students’ lives. If the teachers don’t put in the effort to build the personal
relationship between student-teacher, the relationship will never be. Amy Lee talks
about an experience with one of her difficult students in ​Teaching to Change the World:
“I believe that it was the time and effort in building caring relationships that made
all the difference. I had many moments filled with frustration, anger,
disappointment, and apathy, but fortunately when I was ready to walk away, the
pure joys of teaching revealed themselves. I fell in love with my job this year,
because I fell in love with the students I teach (​Oakes, Lipton, Anderson, Stillman, 
2012, pg 226).​”
Humans strive for personal interactions with other humans and I think that is part of our
drive that God gave to humans. The better the relationship between the student and
teacher, the more enjoyable teaching is for the teacher, and the more eager the student
is to learn. This is why I think building those relationships is so crucial in a classroom
setting.

Our role with one another in the world is to be in community. Romans 12:4-5 says, “For
just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all
have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each
member belongs to all the others” (Bible: New International Version, 2005). We are all
members of one body of Christ, therefore, we must work together to complete the whole
body. Individually we are each broken people that all fit together to perfectly complete
the puzzle of the whole body of Christ. It is also important to acknowledge each others
strengths and weaknesses. We are all different and unique in that way, so working
together can provide support for others’ weaknesses. God created us to live in
community together. I believe that a teacher plays a role in this by encouraging their
students to work together to fulfill that calling of community.

Students are continuously learning. It’s not just the subjects that we are teaching, but it
is way beyond that. It is things that go from interactions that are appropriate between
student-teacher, social cues they are picking up on the playground at recess, and even
social norms that are expected of them. Students don’t go to school to solely learn
about social studies, math, science, english, etc. Students go to school to learn to be a
competent person living in their society. School is not all about book knowledge, there is
so much knowledge from a variety of aspects that they are also picking up on.
The key to human beings learning comes solely from themselves. If students have an
interest in learning, they will. If students don’t care, or are uninterested in what is being
taught, very little of the information will be retained. Both effort from the teacher and
effort from the student is crucial in learning taking place. The teacher must put in the
effort to show the interest in teaching, and the students must put in the effort to show
their interest in learning. “Go into class with a negative, burned out attitude toward your
profession, and your students will be waiting with pitchforks” (Biffle, 2013, pg. 11). The
teacher leads the class, so without effort from the teacher, it’s almost impossible to
expect to see effort from the students. The purpose of learning is to become a
knowledgeable and competent citizen in your community. It’s not about being the
smartest or bragging to friends. It’s about taking the knowledge that you learn and being
able to apply it to your lives as you continue to grow older and play a bigger role in the
community.

In order to best facilitate and support the learning of my students, I as a teacher, need
to provide a safe classroom. Not only should my students feel safe physically, but also
emotionally. My students should feel the freedom to provide an answer and not be
worried about being ridiculed or laughed at. For this to happen, not only do I have to
play a role, but my students play a big role as well. As the teacher, I will explain and
enforce the expectations that I have for them in order to keep my classroom a safe
place. The students role is to respect these expectations and their peers surrounding
them. It is a two way street to keep a classroom a positive learning environment and it
will take effort from both sides to keep it that way, but in my classroom I expect nothing
less.

My Policies & Procedures

Covenant
Policies:

● We will be respectful of each other

● The classroom will provide a “safe place” for all students
● We will be encouraging of all peers to be successful
● We will listen to others
● We will be responsible with the materials we are given
● We will treat others how we would like to be treated
● We will be honest with one another
 ● We will be willing to help each other
● We will be compassionate towards others.

Procedures:

● The teacher will…

○ Provide time during the school day to get to know the students personally.
○ Point out strengths in the students.
○ Be a loving and fair authority figure.
○ Allow time for students to ask questions
○ Set up student-led meetings
○ Set up parent-teacher meetings
● The students are expected to…
○ Listen when others are talking.
○ Treat their peers with respect.
○ Raise their hand when they would like to share.
○ Willingly offer their opinions to class discussions without feeling ashamed.

Content
Policies:

● We will arrive promptly at the beginning of the school day, ready to learn by no
later than 8:05 am.
● The content will be taught from a Christian perspective.
● Students should not leave the classroom during instruction unless given
permission.

Procedures:

● The teacher will…

○ Consider the students’ backgrounds/interests when planning the content
to be taught.
○ Give concrete examples that help the students apply each lesson to their
lives.
○ Encourage students to ask questions if they are confused about the
content being taught.
● The students are expected to…
○ Offer ideas for how the content can be related to their lives.
○ Share their background/interests as it may change the content that may
be taught.
 ○ Confront the teacher if they do not understand how the content being
taught is relevant to their lives so that the teacher can provide the
explanation that they need.

Conduct
Policies:

● We will follow directions.

● We will work together with our peers and be helpful to those around us.
● We will not be distracting to those around us.

​Procedures:

● The teacher will…

○ Address situations that students cannot work out themselves.
○ Discipline those who are acting out in a loving and respectful way.
○ Give reasoning for why the students are being disciplined.
○ Address expectations that the students are held to before each lesson.
● The students are expected to…
○ Participate in classroom activities. Individual students who are
well-behaved will be rewarded with pieces of candy. When the whole class
is behaving, they can earn points for extra recess, an ice cream/pizza
party, or pajama day.
○ Respect and follow the expectations the teacher has for them.
○ Let the teacher know if they do not feel as though their classroom is a safe
place for learning.
○ Confront problems that they may have with other students. If this cannot
be done in a calm, mannered way, then the teacher should be notified to
help control the situation.
○ Follow instructions the first time they are told.
○ Ask questions if there is confusion.
References:

Bible: New International Version​. (2005). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Biffle, C. (2013). ​Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids (and the rest of your class,

too!)​. Yucaipa, CA: Whole Brain Teaching LLC.

Oakes, J., Lipton, M., Anderson, A. & Stillman, J. (2012). ​Teaching to change the world

(4th ed.)​. Boulder, CO: Paradigm.