Hi Pamela,
Respect is everything. Things get out of control in the classroom when your students do not respect you.
Patricia
I agree with you. Maintaining your professional image is vitally important when it comes to your students. Once you lose their respect it is hard to control the atmosphere in the classroom.
You want your students to maintain a certain level of respect as the manager of the classroom. This will not only set a tone in the class but also allow students to get use to this type of relationship between an employee and employer.
Maintaining a professional image is very important. The student and teacher relationship shoudld remain professional if you want the student to maintain the respect the instructor has worked hard to get. Keeping boundaries is valuable.
I think you have to maintain a certain distance and keep firm boundaries so that they won't try to get away with anything. "Come on, we're friends, just this once?" I have two former instructors of mine that I consider friends now, but when I was in their class, they were very professional, keeping a bit of distance, and I hope to model that same behavior.
I think that a distance between the instructor and the student is important becuase the instructor is a role model. People that we look up to are people that we tend to think have some superhuman powers. If we didn't think that way about them we wouldn't look up to them, right. Sadly, the more we get to know a person the more we learn that they too put one shoe on at a time. So, as a role model, or examples students should want to become, we have to have some mistery. We have to put our weaknesses aside and be as near to the role model as we can be. And that means not opening up and stuping to the level of our future role models. The role model is not average...in the eye of the beholder...
Hi Paula,
It is a great complement whenever students say, Mrs. ______ when I grow up I want to be just like you. This is exactly how we want our students to feel.
Patricia
Hi Mohd,
You must use your intellect and best discretion to determine if things are taking too much of a personal turn.
Patricia
there is a very vague line between building a rapport and being too close (Friendly). Recognizing this line will help you maintaning the professional distance.
Hi Evan,
I concur. The relationship between student and instructor should only be professional in nature, any other type of relationship is way too risky.
Patricia
Hi David,
I concur. Students did not enroll with the intentions of being our friends. As a professionals, we should certainly keep the two roles (student and teacher) separately.
Patricia
Hi John,
As educators faltering is not an option. We cannot drop the ball.
Patricia
Image is everything in our society. Never for get honesty and integrity
Students want a mentor and coach, not a buddy. If an Instructor shows special attention to one student and not the rest, there will be resentment and this will effect class room management.
It is imperative to maintain a professional image and create professional distance in any professional role, and definitely in a teaching role! Students must be able to identify that you are the primary source of authority in the classroom and the you set the standard for their professional image and behavior. Adult learners are not so dissimilar from children in that they need structure and guidance, even if they are not aware of those needs. Too often, instructors who are insecure, try to "blend" with their students to feel comfortable. They may mimic their behavior or dress and do not set the professional standard, since this will set them apart. However, we must not make this mistake! If we are not setting the professional example for our students, who will?
This had been a problem for me in the past. When we get to close, several things can happen:
1. the student may lose thier professional respect
2. They may expect special treatment
3. It may give the message of inpropriety (to other students, faculty or supervisors)
4. **You may end up divulging information about another student that should be prtotected**
Evan
The students assume that you are a professional, the authoriety of the class, an expert of the feild they want to enter. They want you to be the boss not their buddy.
The instructor must hold himself to a little higher standard. You are the leader of the pack, so lead.
I believe that students look at us as those they would like to emulate in respect to our ability to be professional and successful and tie the two together. If we falter even for a second, we risk all the trust we've worked hard to earn as that role model.
students do not need to be our friends(they have plenty of thier own).keeping a professional distance confirms who is in charge.
As in my other job as a caseworker, there needs to be a professional boundary established. This doesn't mean that there is any compassion, but it eliminates any akward situations that might come out of a "friendship" situation. For example, if you have to repermand someone who is a friend, they might take it harder or feel that they were above the normal set of rules.
