by David Spellmon

Disclaimer: To be fair, I’m sure at some points in our careers as educators, we all have been guilty of one or more of these things; still, I’m encouraging all of us to be more mindful of our practices.

Dr. James Comer is known for the popular quote, “No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.” These four things I’m going to outline are relationship killers that must be eradicated from the consciousness of every educator that serves students of color, and I’ll explain how creating significant relationships with our students helps them manifest the greatness that’s inside of each of them.

STOP Being Classroom Roster Wardens!

Photo by Zach Vessels on Unsplash

We all know those individuals who conduct their own professional development with the new educators in their PLCs or hallways. They often scan classroom rosters to warn of the upcoming terror in the form of students that will be coming their way on the first day of school. This is problematic for several reasons. The rookie educator now has a negative view of a student they have never met, and anything less than perfect behavior will confirm their self-fulfilling prophecy, thanks to the bad seed planted by the Classroom Roster Warden. Keeping with the negative theme, students have their moments of maturity at various times. While that student may not have shown a previous educator their greatness consistently, they very well could have evolved to a better version of themselves for the next educator. However, their personal growth might not be celebrated because of the preconceived notions regarding their behavior.

Lastly, it’s just a bad look for the Classroom Roster Warden. We constantly talk about the Growth Mindset for our students and how they can change for the better with a shift in thinking, but are we okay with educators sticking firmly to what they know? Clearly not, I encourage those Wardens to rework their thinking and not hold grudges against students who depend on them for holistic growth. If you see a student on a roster that has had issues in the past, changing the tune of your conversation with their new educator can go a long way. Remember, we work with children who are still figuring a lot of things out; we should not expect perfection from any K-12 student since we as the educators are not perfect.

STOP Saying I’ve Been Teaching for X Number of Years!

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No shade to my veteran educators, but that’s who you are going to hear this statement from the most, especially if they have 15 years or more of experience. For this example, I’m going to use 20 years as to why this is problematic. In 2001 the Motor Trend Car of the Year was the Chrysler PT Cruiser, which is now discontinued, the average gas price for a gallon was $1.46, iTunes was first introduced, Nokia had the top phone, and Lifehouse’s “Hanging by a Moment” was the number 1 single per Billboard.

Now I’m sure every person reading this post has a smartphone, whether it be an iPhone or Android, rather than that good old Nokia with everyone’s favorite game, Snake. You’ve also purchased a newer, more fuel-efficient vehicle than the aforementioned PT Cruiser. In just the past 20 years, we’ve experienced accelerated growth in many areas of our lives, but you know one thing that closely resembles the structure of when it was created, Teaching! I appreciate every educator who has put their blood, sweat, and tears into this profession for any amount of time, but we all know education is a creature of habit. Today’s students are much different from students of the past. When an educator doesn’t evolve their mindset and pedagogy to best work with the current generation, it will create a disconnection between the student, the teacher, and the curriculum. Education should be more of a digital and creative environment that mirrors the top jobs in the current job market, so the best practices of 2001 are outdated for this 2021 version of education, but connecting with students on their levels will never go out of style!

STOP Saying I Already Have my Degree, You Have to get Yours!

Photo by Gian Cescon on Unsplash

We all understand how important our bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees are in this profession for career advancement, but we fail to realize why constantly stating our collegiate accomplishments can become problematic for our students. Attention is the currency of the youth, and the individuals who garner the most attention from your students can be found on social media outlets like TikTok, Twitch, Instagram and various blogsites. These individuals are dominating the courts, pitches, and fields across the globe. These individuals are also making the music that fills the earpods of your students. Most of these individuals are around the same age or are slightly older than our students but have become the new age celebrities. Guess what most of them don’t have? You guessed it, college degrees! And, the ones that do are not weaponizing it to “motivate” their audiences.

If my favorite influencer is getting millions of views on YouTube, and I aspire to be like them, then my teacher talking about their prestigious degree from Duke, Howard, or Temple University every time I don’t complete an assignment isn’t going to create an aha moment and increase my ownership of my learning! You may have a classroom where no one in a student’s family has been to college, so simply speaking of degrees doesn’t appeal to them. If we know our students really love athletics, digital media, fashion, etc., let’s show them the colleges/universities that match their interests to start the journey of their dreams becoming their reality! Establishing regular (e.g., monthly, quarterly) Zoom meetings with current professors might expand your students’ minds and change their trajectories.

STOP Saying I Don’t Know What’s It’s Like to Be a {Insert Race} {Insert Gender}!

Photo by Santi Vedri via Unsplash

This problematic statement resonates with me deeply because it is something I’ve heard from my primary school years, and I’m still hearing it now from the educators I support. The statement is racially divisive on its own, and stating the obvious doesn’t help to build relationships with your students of color. The statistics don’t lie, 76% of teachers in public education were White females during the 2017-2018 school year, and I’m sure the numbers are around the same for 2021. I mention that statistic because I hear it mostly from White females. I cringe when I hear this statement because it’s a cop out, meaning the educator will not attempt to understand life from their student’s perspective. With so much information available on the internet, an educator can ingratiate themselves to any demographic or section of their respective city by doing the work to learn about the experiences of their students. More importantly, if you do not share the same race or culture with your students, you have opportunities for your students to teach you! This is an overlooked aspect of education; when your students get the chance to educate their educators, it enhances their working relationships. Students typically relive the same types of years until they graduate high school. Remember the earlier point about education being a creature of habit. When educators break the mold and present something different, students take notice. Asking your students where they shop, get groceries, and spend their leisure time will throw them off. Going further to build those significant relationships can be done by visiting those places and seeing your students in their out-of-school environments to show them that you truly see them and will meet them where they are, without judgement.

If we truly want to make an impact on this new generation of students of color, then we as the educators must take inventory of the rhetoric and pedagogies that have left so much to be desired. Let’s take the time to get to know our students, strengthen those relationships that will benefit the entire school community, and discontinue outdated practices that are rooted in a system that wasn’t designed for our students of color in the first place. The quote “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result,” comes to mind. If using these four relationships killers haven’t worked for you yet, it’s time to change your method of connecting with your students.