Building Trust ....Thoughts on the matter
This week in Ben Slavic's blog we touched on the idea of trust in the language classroom. This is a topic very near and dear to us here at Hearts For Teaching.
Incredible things can be accomplished by building trust.
The problem is....building trust isn't always easy...or instinctive. Few teacher-training courses address it. It is rare to find a how-to-build-trust-in-the-classroom workshop. I've never seen it as a conference day focus. Maybe few people feel qualified to offer advice on the subject.
Even though it is important to me, I can only offer ideas...things to do that have helped me to build trust with students in the past. None of them are fool-proof. All of them take time. Few of them work in isolation. So I'll offer what I have seen and observed and felt to be true...and invite you to do the same.
I believe that trust is a bridge built between people. I believe that it is a bridge built in layers. We have no way of knowing how many layers of trust need to pile up before another individual feels that it is safe to cross the bridge.
Layers are vital. Trust is constantly being lost and gained.
I believe that each individual responds differently to matters of trust based on prior experiences, spiritual beliefs, level of cognitive development and personality.
I believe that the "trust bridge" is present in every relationship.
And in a classroom situations, there are many relationships involved.
Working with trust, and for trust, takes time, patience, intention and perseverance.
with love,
Laurie
Incredible things can be accomplished by building trust.
The problem is....building trust isn't always easy...or instinctive. Few teacher-training courses address it. It is rare to find a how-to-build-trust-in-the-classroom workshop. I've never seen it as a conference day focus. Maybe few people feel qualified to offer advice on the subject.
Even though it is important to me, I can only offer ideas...things to do that have helped me to build trust with students in the past. None of them are fool-proof. All of them take time. Few of them work in isolation. So I'll offer what I have seen and observed and felt to be true...and invite you to do the same.
I believe that trust is a bridge built between people. I believe that it is a bridge built in layers. We have no way of knowing how many layers of trust need to pile up before another individual feels that it is safe to cross the bridge.
Layers are vital. Trust is constantly being lost and gained.
I believe that each individual responds differently to matters of trust based on prior experiences, spiritual beliefs, level of cognitive development and personality.
I believe that the "trust bridge" is present in every relationship.
And in a classroom situations, there are many relationships involved.
Working with trust, and for trust, takes time, patience, intention and perseverance.
with love,
Laurie
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