Student Rapport
There must always be a balance between leader and friend. Too much rapport will cause an enormous lack of respect.
Hi Bryant,
You make an excellent point about what rapport should and shouldn't be. Rapport should be based upon professional respect and the sharing of mutual goals in relation to the career training being offered.
Gary
In my opinion, too much rapport doesn't cause a lack of respect; lack of respect is caused by misguided rapport. If you attempt to develop rapport with students and there is an underlying motive that is not related to education or student success, than that is where the lack of respect is developed. Far too many times instructors develop rapport, not with trying to develop a better student, but with other goals in mind. This type of rapport is dangerous and causes not only the students in question to lose respect for the instructor, but to all the other students who witnessed the misguided attempts at rapport.
I agree with you totally. I have good rapport with my students and even after they leave my class they will come back and ask questions about other things. We really need this type of trust to keep them focused.
Hi William,
Well said concerning student boundaries. They have to be set and enforced. To do otherwise is to invite problems that need not be created. An instructor can create rapport with students and enjoy having them in the class and even work with them as professionals when they are in the field but they cannot become too close as you say.
Gary
Hi Nolan,
A trap that an instructor cannot afford to fall into. If they do it will spell the end of their career because they will have lost control of the situation and their ability to lead the class. The boundaries have to be clear and understood by all.
Gary
It is imperative that as an educator you realize where the line needs to be drawn. You cannot become a parent figure, priest or best friend. I am not saying to become aloof or rude to the student. A friendly working/educating relationship is where it must end. I have known too many instructors that forgot about the line and lost their jobs over it. I have stated earlier that I enjoy the interaction and learning experience with my students, but when they start getting too close or personal I start reinforcing the line subtly, most of the time the students hardly notice.
I agree, I have seen it with some people that create to much of a relationship with students. At that point it makes it harder to teach the student because they think they are your fiend and dont have to do all the class requirments
If I may make an analogy.WE should be more like parental figures than friends.We need our students to know that we care about thier sucess,but we are not peers.
Hi Louis,
Good comments about student relationships. It is a balancing act to keep the students engaged and progressing with their learning while not coddling them too much.
Also, I like your approach to instructional improvement. Sounds like you are looking for ways to constantly improve on your ability to deliver quality instruction. Keep up the good work.
Gary
This is indeed a balancing act. You must be friendly but you cannot be a friend. You must contain classroom control but you cannot be a dictator. You must show your students that you know your subject well but must be careful not to let them think that you feel that you are better than them. You must be able to correct (both discipline and knowledge) without affecting the self esteem of your student. Tough job, somebody’s got to do it and I think I get better at it everyday.
I dissagree with your thought that too much raport creates lack of respect. There is nothing better than a good raport in your class or group. It is a strong building block for group connectivity. I have always made having a strong raport a part of my many activities. While serving as a squad leader in the military, the trust and respect between myself and my men was extreemely important to the continuity of the group and the success of our mission. I find the same is true in the classroom. If your students realize that you genuinely care about their well-being as well as what knowledge they gain from you, you will have a very strong raport as well as being highly respected by your students. I think you may have confused a good raport with being their buddy. Students already have plenty of buddies and that is not our slot to fill as instructors.
I agree, Scott! It actually mirrors the workplace as to the relationship between a supervisor or manager and his/her employees. It is important to build professional relationships with our adult learners, of course, but there still must be that appropriate balance in and out of the classroom.
Jay Hollowell
MaxKnowledge Facilitator
