Hi Michele,
You are on point! As educators we must maintain the very highest level of professionalism because we are being watched.
Patricia Scales
Hi Candace,
I agree! The student/instructor relationship should be strictly business.
Patricia Scales
Hi Helena,
Distance really matters when it comes to the students and instructor. Boundaries must be established.
Patricia Scales
Hi Vicki,
I concur! There should never be any gray in the student/instructor relationship. The instructor should always up hold their role to very high regards.
Patricia Scales
Hi VIRGILIO,
I agree! You get back what you give out. Give respect to students, and they will in turn respect you.
Patricia Scales
Hi Nancy,
Great response! Students frown upon favoritism. It is simple, treat every student the same, and lead by example.
Patricia Scales
Hi James,
Distance is extremely important in the student/instructor relationship.
Patricia Scales
Hi Russell,
I concur! Students must know that you are the authoritative figure by your actions and nonverbal gestures.
Patricia Scales
Hi Melissa,
The line has to be drawn in a student/instructor relationship. It is okay to be friendly, but watch becoming too personal.
Patricia Scales
Hi Alhagie,
I totally agree with you. The instructor/student relationship should be strictly professional in nature.
Patricia Scales
I believe that you can be friendly towards the student group as a whole, and be perceived as a friendly person without becoming personal friends with students. Once that line has been crossed you have lost the respect of not only the student befriended but also the student group as a whole.
The students will not take your instruction or constructive critism seriously because you are "friends" and don't really mean it. The instuctor will then lose control of the class and become ineffective as a result.
A professional image presents a role model as well as sets the stage for independent performance by a student.
instructors need to be professional at all times. Instructors should not be friends with their students. This would create classroom management problems and become difficult to give the grade they earned
It is imprtant to keep personal life and professional life separate. It is best to refrain in engaging in activities and parties outside the classroom with the students. Another problem can be adding the students to social media sites if the site is not maintained in a professional manner
Maintaining professional distance is important for gaining and maintaining students respect. I believe that establishing friendly atmosphere in the class is important to make students comfortable asking questions and participating in discussions. However,it has to be within a professional distance.
Students have lots of wants and needs. They may want to cultivate a friend-type relationship with a student. Instructors have wants and needs also.
Instructors, especially new ones, may fall in to trying to be a friend. The student needs a professional teacher who can advise them about school-related issues. Crossing the line may be a want for the teacher but it is not a need.
A teacher who crosses this line has boundary issues that need to be dealt with by supervisors.
Its very important to maintain a professional distance from the students so that they can still feel like you are an authority on the ssubject matter you are teaching. If you are too familiar and open with students, the line between instructor and friend is blurred and may cause problems in maintaining structure in the classroom.
I believe that maintaining a professional image is very important in the classroom because as an instructor, one does not want to be treated unprofessionally by a student-after all, one gets treated depending on how he is treating students in his class.
There is a very distinct line between an instructor trying to win over a class by befriending students or by presenting a professional image of an SME and IDE who earns the respect of students. The latter is the desired relationship between an instructor and the students. Professional boundaries must be maintained or it will create serious issues, mainly ethical issues, with students grades. if there is a less than professional relationship with some students and not others, favoritism can also rear its ugly head. The wisest choice is to be the professional who effectively manages his or her class.
The professional distance is a buffer for situations and problems that can arise. It gives the instructor the oportunity to maintain the upper hand and control of the class. Conversely, the instructor will avoid problems that would arise if he/she chose to become too friendly with class members.
