Five Things Your Students Will Remember About You

As a teacher, you spend countless hours creating lessons, tidying your room, and grading homework. But the things your students will remember most about their time in your classroom aren’t the day-to-day tasks or types of homework assignments. Here are what students will remember about you years from now:

1. How well you knew them. It’s nice to know students’ names, but you show them you care when you remember that they play a sport or an instrument, or that they grew up in another country. Show interest in your students as people. It means a lot.
2. You believed in them. Build your students’ confidence by encouraging them to set goals and work hard toward them. Let them know that you see their potential. Talk to them about what they want for themselves and then discuss those ideas as realities.
3. Your goal was teaching students to better themselves. Yes, your job is to teach students to master your subject, but it’s about more than that. Make it your objective to help students improve themselves and their abilities, academically and otherwise.
4. Your classroom felt safe. The student who feels comfortable enough to contribute ideas is the student who is excited about learning and growing. Make your classroom a place where all ideas are valued and all students are listened to and respected.
5. Your door was always open. Life is not easy for all students. The high school years in particular are full of change and can be tumultuous and stressful. Make sure your students know that you’re available as a sounding board when they need you, and that you are part of their extended support system.

If you want to be the best teacher possible, think about the impact you want to have on your students and how your daily actions shape that influence. You can change your students’ lives for the better by how you teach them – and how you treat them.