Building Trust

In Trading trust for attention from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin shares,

“But the only purpose of advertising of any kind is to cause action, and action only happens when there’s trust involved.”

Students will have an easier time learning new skills if they trust the teacher.

I know when I want to learn something, I have to trust that the teacher is knowledgeable and capable of teaching me this skill. If I have no respect and don’t trust the teacher, my mind shuts down. I will not be able to focus on or retain any new learning.

In my own classroom, I need to earn my student's trust. At the beginning of the year, many students don’t know me. They don’t understand my methods of teaching or if they feel I’m knowledgeable about teaching.

At the beginning of the year, I give my students some background about myself. I also share the values that I feel are important in a person such as honesty and integrity. I explain that I want to help them succeed and will do everything in my power to help them, but ultimately the learning rests on their shoulders. No one can make them learn.

I also tell them that I will always be honest with them. They may not always like what I tell them but I promise that I won’t lie to them. If they ask me questions that I won’t answer because they are personal questions, I will let them know why I won’t answer them. I expect them to respond the same to me.

I will always try to do the right thing and I hope that they will do. I try to share the “rule” that I go by. If I have to hide it or lie about it, then it is not the right thing to do. If I can’t tell my parents or grandparents, then there is something wrong with what I’m doing, unless it is a good surprise for them. My students should practice this rule also.

I want them to know that I’m knowledgeable about teaching, but I don’t know everything. If there is something that they want to learn and I don’t know how to do it, I’m willing to figure out a way for them to learn how to do it. I might even enjoy learning it with them.

Students will test me to see if I mean what I say. When my actions speak clearly that I practice what I say, they will begin to trust me. When I ask them to do difficult things that involve them risking failure, they are more willing to give me a try. I’m basically asking them to trust me. I’m not promising them success, but I will promise that I will be there to catch them if they fall. I will help them get up again and try. I will encourage them not to give up and even see if there are other alternatives to reach their goal.

Once students learn to trust me, their goals can become endless. Success is waiting for them around the corner.

How do you get students to trust you? Please share.

Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash