Classroom Conversations
Student-teacher relationships (STRs) built on trust and respect are essential for a student’s esteem—and success.^[1] Student-teacher trust is one of the few factors shown to impact everything from attendance to teacher retention, even when controlled for socioeconomic status.^[2] But all research on trust so far is correlational: there are no defined practices on how to build it.^[3] 

This short “intervention” is an attempt at empowering students to build trust with their teachers and identify + advocate for their needs.

You can run this with a friend who’s struggling or lead a whole-class activity with your teacher’s permission.

Process:

Be transparent about goals:

• Get you to reflect on your school experiences
• Get you to take initiative to change those experiences (so school gets a little more bearable)

Ask students questions, have them answer on a sheet of paper or post-its. Have them choose a teacher they don’t respect/have a close relationship with, or whose class they don’t like.

1                2                3                4                5

Strong no        No                Neutral                Yes                Strong yes

(Design questions together to ensure they match context)

1. If you notice your teacher misgraded your test, are you confident they’ll fix it if you tell them?
2. Seeing your teacher cry after the class discussed an emotional topic (the holocaust, the trail of tears, character dying in a book, etc.) [rank 1-5 how uncomfortable this would make you]
3. If your teacher was tired/frustrated in a one on one, do you think they’d show it?
4. What are the strongest emotions you feel in your class? Do you ever feel [insert emotion] with your teacher? Does your teacher ever notice your anger? Do you ever talk about your feelings with your teacher? Do you feel comfortable doing that?

• Classroom feelings
• Personal feelings

5. Choose one: If you have a crazy month where you are really struggling: you ask for several extensions, you ask to go to the nurse a couple times a week, would your teacher be suspicious that you’reT abusing the trust? // If there was gossip about you in the teacher’s lounge, would your teacher step in?

Ask an open ended question: How can you make your classroom better?

People may bring up ideas like:

• Respect the teacher more (listen better, come more on time, transition faster)
• Teacher respects us more (raises voice less, doesn’t ask where we’re going in the halls)
• Less requirements (freedom to go use the bathroom, less homework)
• more fun (sit next to my friends, more breaks, more work time)
• Less [stressors] (loud noise in chaotic classrooms, stress/tension in competitive classrooms)
• Less emphasis on [toxic pattern] (grades, discipline, points, "just graduate")
• Smaller classes, less stress for the teacher (salary, respect from administrators, freedom to design curriculum), more counselors/social workers
• More communication from administrators
• less of [social problem] (bullying, harassment, cliques, judgment, racism/stereotyping, condescension, small jabs)

Share and incorporate more ideas

More emotional availability: so you don't have to hold stress in

• Acknowledged anxieties are easier to handle
• The classroom space will be less confrontational, and you’ll feel safer

Ability to negotiate: things don't just happen to you, you have a real say.

• Specific examples: extension, going for a walk

Solid connection with the teacher:

• Having a good relationship with your teacher will improve your experience…

“Because when we build this base, we can achieve the types of changes you're looking for (other items on the list).”

Share resources that explain how to do these things (ask for help, extensions, taking a break, setting boundaries, etc.)