Thursday 17 November 2011

Trust and rapport.

I'm not a qualified teacher yet, this much is fact.  In my short experience with teaching teenagers however, the only time that I have ever had any form of teaching 'success' has come from classes or moments that stem from trust.  The student trusts me and what I am trying to do, and I trust them to be human with all that that involves.  Basic human rapport - right? 
 No trust
It's clips like this one that I found on You tube that makes me mad.  The principle in this clip is 'spying' on his students while they use their school issued lap top.  "It's to make sure that they are doing the work they are supposed to be doing!", then he starts "messing with them" by taking pictures of them from the computer photo booth application.  What a jerk!
All he's doing is widening the gap between students and teachers.  He is basically assuming guilt.  'You are a student and therefore can not be trusted to do the right thing'.  
I was reading the introduction to the Victorian Essential Learning Standard and in it, it states that the goals are intended to support students "to build a future based on sustainability, innovation and 
building strong communities." Strong communities should promote mutual responsibility and trust in a diverse socio-cultural community.  Where's the trust from Mr Peeping-tom Principle?


No matter what form ICT takes in the school that I end up at, I know that I need to keep up to date as much as possible.  I need to NOT get frustrated at the things that I can not change (including computer issues), do as much professional development as I can and trust the students to experiment, be human, probably push some boundaries, but allow a forum that gives them room to learn.  Isn't that why we have had Vygotsky and Piaget shoved at us from day one doing this course?  Engage them, build rapport and let them take their current knowledge to the next stage.  If taking their knowledge requires the assistance of ICT then its my job to make that happen.

1 comment:

  1. I like the links you make between trust, rapport and ICT. I imagine Mr peeping-tom principal isn't the only one out there that sees it as their duty to catch out kids misuse of ICT pounce on them.
    Hopefully with positive classroom dynamics and a good rapport you can achieve a trust with students that will lead to a more effective integration of ICT in the classroom where students don't need to be under constant surveillance...probably to the disappointment of mr peeping-tom principal!

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