It’s funny how often we take things for granted. Whether it be clean water, a toothbrush, or even your favorite sweet (I think any dieter can relate to this one!), as soon as they are no longer available to you, you realize just how much it meant to have in your life. Something that I didn’t realize how much I took for granted was talking to my students every morning and during lunch.
I used to have kids come into my classroom to share their latest stories about hunting or farming, vent about their latest woes, or ask me for advice on what to do in one of their dramatic and awkward “growing up” stories. I often had students leave lunch early to come sit in my classroom and do the same thing all over again, or update me on the latest happenings with their problems from that morning. As much as I loved it, I couldn’t help but think, “Ugh, I have to go make copies” or “I really need to get this History lesson finished”. I will admit, there were times I listened halfheartedly to their stories in an attempt to get my work done.
When I got the call offering me the position of an iEducator I was ecstatic. As a matter of fact, I am embarrassed to admit, I still have that voicemail on my phone as I felt like this was a new door opening up for me- a new direction (What can I say, I am sentimental like that). I was ready for this exciting change and as terrible as it sounds, I was ready to put my face-to-face classroom time behind me and start this new journey!
That is, until my last day at the school. That morning, I had students bring me cards, flowers, candy, and more importantly, hugs. Students that I didn’t even think liked me or hardly spoke to me were hugging me after class saying how much they were going to miss me after having me for two years. That day, the tears just wouldn’t stop flowing. That is when I realized how many relationships and bonds I had formed with “my kids”.
“You will form new relationships with your online students,” my husband told me.
My first summer term as an iEducator has come and went and I am disappointed to admit that I didn’t form relationships with the kids like I had wanted. I tried to be upbeat, talk about their hobbies, and used little bitmojis, but something just wasn’t clicking. I wasn’t used to not seeing the students’ faces as I taught a lesson, being able to give them a side story in the middle of class, or have them pop around the edge of my classroom door to visit. While I loved my new job, it was hard for me to not have that face-to-face contact.
Then Collaboration of the Minds came around. I went into the conference with the goal of learning how to make relationships with my students online. To my surprise, the entire conference was about forming relationships.
I soaked in what the keynote speakers said and listened to what some of the other online instructors had to say. That’s when I had an epiphany. Just like in my face-to-face classroom, the online students want support. They want to know that if they need help, you are going to be there. The stories and the hugs came after they learned to trust me. Show them you care and that they can trust you to help them, and the rest will follow.
As I start my first busy term as an iEducator, I am sticking with this philosophy. I still share stories about my life, but on my weekly announcements and instead of talking with my usual sarcastic tone, I type in a playful manner using as many bitmjois as I can. But my main goal is to just support my students and get them to trust me. Hopefully the rest will all fall into place from there.