Introduction
Many teachers focus mainly on the learning curricula and as a result, they realize that there are weak points in such curricula for “an average student”. It should be noted that the majority of students with different abilities are under-served by this mainstream curricula. It is one of the main problems of modern education. To improve the situation teachers are to develop new effective approaches aiming not only to improve students’ body of knowledge but also to help them develop as personalities.
An effective strategy for building a relationship
At first, an effective strategy for building a relationship during the educational process should include caring for all students equally as an important condition for success. This variable finds its grounds in numerous sources. According to Baker (2010), students are to be provided with equal conditions and care by their teachers no matter how different they might be from their peers in any relation including their origin, race, cultural background, and so on.
The families disadvantaged in socio-economic terms
Secondly, the families disadvantaged in socio-economic terms are faced with especial pressure which makes it much harder for a child from such a family to achieve good academic results. Thus, they have a special need for teachers’ support and respect.
Parental involvement
Thirdly, parental involvement is to be seen as one of the principal goals which are to be achieved by a teacher. This point can be evaluated as a very important condition for successful cooperation between school and family to guarantee the best academic results for every particular child (”Creating a Culture of High Expectations” 2012). Parents should be concerned with their children’s success at school and if there are some problems, they should be solved together with parents. Three parental concerns are influencing parent-teacher communication needs. Parents should visit the school and talk to teachers about the behavior and achievements of their children. Even if the student does not have any problems at school parents should still visit the school regularly to control the progress of their children. Parents may organize special parent-teacher conferences to discuss the current issues and find the way of their solving. Regular phones to the teacher may also be useful if the parents cannot find time to visit the school. Parents should collaborate with teachers and provide support if necessary. If their children have special needs parents should take care of them. The best results may be achieved with the help of parent-teacher collaboration.
Multiple means of action and expression
In fourth, a teacher should provide multiple means of action and expression to the students. Multiple means of engagement should be used by a teacher to involve students in the process of learning. In making educational plans the pupils’ needs and abilities should be taken into account. Children with psychological problems need special attention.
The specific level of learning difficulty
In fifth, such variable as a specific level of learning difficulty is significantly emphasized by the situation in modern education. This important principle can find many reflections in the articles under consideration in this paper. According to Baker (2010), a specific level of learning difficulty is to be regulated based on the student’s previous experience. A similar idea is expressed in the article “Creating a Culture of High Expectations, Student Motivation and Instructional Support in Schools and Classrooms. High Schools That Work” based on the illustration with the language studies. The teachers whose example is considered in the article concluded that certain languages can be offered only to those students whose background allows it. For example, if the student used to learn Spanish before it can be offered to him/her during the next studying periods.
Engagement in collective and reflective practice
In a fifth, engagement in collective and reflective practice is shown as an important goal for teachers. Baker (2010) argues that teachers are to combine their experience to provide relevant assistance to their students during the complicated period of adolescence. In particular, students need help in managing their emotions and at times they might even need someone to show one’s empathy to them (Gregory 2003).
Conclusion
Finally, three more important variables which can be effectively applied by teachers in the strategy for building relationships during the educational process are motivation, personality, and teaching and learning styles; coping and resilience skills of students and helping students to cope with abusing alcohol or drugs. The importance of all of them was also many times addressed in the articles under consideration. For example, in the article “Creating a Culture of High Expectations, Student Motivation and Instructional Support in Schools and Classrooms. High Schools That Work” it is stated that students have a great necessity for motivation in their studies as for many of them the very fact that they might benefit as a result of received knowledge will help have a considerable improvement in their academic success (2012).
As a final point, the value of effective strategies in building relationships in school is more than significant. This fact is supported by the findings of the two articles under consideration which describe particular areas where such strategies are especially important.
References
Baker, P. (2010). Improving the Teaching and Learning of Science in a Suburban Junior High School on Long Island: Achieving Parity through Cogenerative Dialogues.
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation. Web.
Creating a Culture of High Expectations, Student Motivation and Instructional Support in Schools and Classrooms. High Schools That Work. (2012). Southern Regional Education Board. Web.Â
Gregory, G. (2003). Differentiated Instructional Strategies in Practice Training, Implementation, and Supervision. The United States: Corwin Press.