Empowerment and Relationships

Research Question: ED. 227S Empowerment and Relationships Tim Blanusa Butler University

Empowerment and Relationships Teaching is a job that gives people a lot of freedom to teach and work with students in ways that they feel appropriate. The question that I asked myself this semester was how do teachers empower the students while still keeping control over the classroom. In addition to

empowering the students teachers also need to form relationships with them that are acceptable and appropriate. The reason I selected this question is because with the constant battle from students, teachers need to stand firm with what they say. They need to stick to their word and keep control over the classroom. Teachers also are the ones that need to deal with different students as the students push the teachers to their limits. In pushing to these limits teachers see what the student is capable of. With the amount of time that the teacher spends with the students it also brings up what the relationships are like. The teacher needs to show interest in what the student is doing in addition to what is happening outside of the classroom. To observe how the empowerment and relationships form between teachers and students I observed at Shortridge in Indianapolis. I sat in both middle school and high school classes. Sitting in these classes gave me a chance to reflect on my research question. On my first day in the school I saw how teachers and students should not interact with each other. The classroom that I sat in on was a English class that only had four students in it. The teacher who was suppose to teach the class had an important meeting to go to so another teacher of the same class came in. When this new teacher came in I saw examples of how not to interact with students. This new teacher was trying to empower the student by letting them do the work on their own, but failed to have an acceptable relationship with them. The reason I did not think this relationship was good was because the teacher was talking to the students in a way that was

Empowerment and Relationships not acceptable. The teacher was talking to them about other students grades and was not keeping the students engaged in what they were doing. Another classroom observation that I was able to sit in on was a 7th grade history class. In this classroom it was clear to see how the teacher was empowering the students to get the work done. The students had to work in groups and answer questions on the novel that they

were reading. This was good because it gave the students a chance to communicate with others while making sure they stayed on track with what they were doing. It was clear the students like how this was set up because they feel as if they were adults and the teacher was giving them the freedom to get the work done. The fact that the students knew they had to get so much done before the day was over too was also empowering for them to learn. In this class the relationship between the student and the teacher was clearly shown. She talked to them as a friend and made sure they were not intimated when asking her different questions. The relationship between them was a good example because it was professional while still showing how the teacher cared about the student. Sitting in a math class we were able to see another teaching style. In this teaching style the teacher did a lot to make sure that the students were on track and focused on what they were doing. She held more control over the class and did not grant the students much freedom to do what they wanted. I thought this was interesting because the class was a freshman class and should have had more freedoms to do what they wanted. This teacher was also not very friend when it came time to make relationships with the different students. She was very strict and I think this was a good way to make sure that the full class stayed on topic with what they were learning. In a math setting if you miss one of the steps than you will fall behind because you are not sure what to do.

Empowerment and Relationships When I sat in a junior senior class I was able to see how the relationships between teacher and student was more of a friend one and the students were more independent in what they are doing. The class was an English class that was for seniors and juniors who did not pass in the reading scores of the state test. These students needed a teacher who would keep

them under control whole keeping them on track. I feel that the teacher in this room did a good job because he gave them a chance to work with each other and gave them more tools to use. The teacher in this room is one who bought everything in his room and gave all his students a chance to use it and show that they are responsible. I believe that more students would respect them for this because it shows that the teacher cares in how they excel. This teacher also talked about how the different teachers run their room. He said if you give students respect they would give you the same. This is important because when different people work they will learn how do to do things different. They students need to know that when they go out into the world they will be on their own and be in the power of the choice that they make. From sitting in all of the different classrooms it was clear to see how different teachers gave different rights and formed different relationships with their students. It is interesting to think about how different grades mature and when they do they are granted different rights. In some cases a 7th grader might be more mature that a senior in high school and it is the job of the teacher to push the students to these new levels. If the teacher were to give the student to much freedom than they would not be able to stay on track. In addition the teacher would not be able to gain control back over the students. Even on the collegial level you still see where the teacher controls the room. You can empower the students while maintaining control over them. People need to feel in control for them to want to do well. It is in their nature to want to do well and to push themselves to do

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well. I feel that if they do not push themselves than they would not work. People would expect things to be handed to them. If you think of a classroom you want your students to be interested and engaged in what they are doing. Part of this is when you think about how they are doing the homework out of the classroom and working on material in the class. As you see a student working it is your job as an educator to grand the child more privileges as they show they know what they are doing. Much like a parent granting a privilege to a child, the child needs to show they have earned what they what they want to be given. When you giving a student these extra rights and ways to empower them you need to monitor it to ensure that the student will not take advantage of what they have been given. If the student does something that is wrong you need to be able to bring them back in to the assignment as the teacher. Granting more power to empower students you need to remember that it will help into building a friendship with them. In the relationship it will be professional while still showing the students that you care about them. Much like stated before if you respect the student they would respect you. When they respect you they will be both empowered and have an appropriate relationship. It is important to have the relationship because having social skills is something that will be in their life forever. When they get a job they will need to know how to work with others to make sure they are getting their work done. Also this is important for when they are working with other students in their social circles. They need to know and recognizes when it is healthy and when it is not healthy or what is appropriate verse what is not. In addition to sitting in classrooms and observing the interactions between teacher and student, I also had the chance to interview a 6th grader from the school. The student I

Empowerment and Relationships interviewed was named Robert Cole. Cole was a studnet who has struggled with math and I

was working with him as a tutor. He was honest during the interview and told me his true point of view. To start I asked what he thought about the school and how it was set up. He talked about how he thought the school was a tough school and some of the kids were very bad. He talked about how the school did not really follow through with the punishments that they selected for the different kids. He thinks that it is not teaching the students a lesson when they are doing this. The student talked about how he liked how the school was set up in a way that let students all is together. He liked how he had the chance to spend time with high school students and how he got to feel responsible. When he talked about how he felt responsible working with them it is like he felt empowered. He was empowered to work harder and see what it would be like to be with older students. This was interesting because it showed how the student feels as if they have control over what they are doing. This is also interesting because when he is spending so much time with the older kids he will get the chance to see how the different levels of the school get more freedoms. One of the examples Cole gave was how he saw a difference in the lunches for the students. They keep all of the 6th graders together and as you get older you can get to move around more. In addition he said that the seniors get to go off campus when they want to. That would be a huge empowerment and is something that the teachers would not have control over. This is something that the teachers can take away however if the students begin to abuse it. Cole talked about how as you get into the higher grades you are also in control over they types of classes that you are taking. Working with a guidance counselor gives you a relationship with someone that knows you that is going to work with you to make sure that you

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stay on track and are taking classes that are good for you. This is making the students feel as if they have more control than they actually do. This goes into empowering them to push them to take classes that they want to. I also asked Cole about what he thought about his relationships with the teachers. When he talked about this he made it sound as if they were all friends. He talked about how the year after having a teacher they seemed interested in the lives of the students. He thinks that it is nice that they care and ask about how he is doing. He also talked about how there is a line when it comes to talking to them about things that are appropriate. He told me how he would not talk to teacher about a girl that he might have a crush on but he would talk about how his basket ball games are going. In addition Cole talked about how some students might not want anything to do with a teacher. The reason that they would not want anything to do with them is because a student might consider them a suck-up or a teachers-pet. A number of other people have talked and wrote about ways to empower students to rise up and what is acceptable for in the classroom. There are a number of different levels of empowerment in addition to a number of ways to show this to different students. Examples of empowerment could be leaving the room to take a quick break or even letting a student have their phone. There are a number of people who have expressed their point of view on what it would be like to have a these different things in the classroom. In an article about cell phones in the class they go into depth on how it plays a role in student empowerment in addition to forming relationships in the classroom. In a middle school or high school classroom it is know that most students have cellphones. The students that have them do not want to be treated like a child because they have these. The student does not want to have to turn it in at the start of class. The teachers in these rooms do not want students to sit

Empowerment and Relationships on their phones while they are teaching either. For both of these reasons teachers and students need to have an understanding of what is acceptable and not acceptable for the use of cell phones. Students also need to understand that different teachers might not allow phone use

while others do. This is empowering students to make choices based on what they are doing in the classrooms. " Some participants indicated that the cell phone rules were intended to diminish open visibility of the devices, whereas others claimed that the rule was to have the phones turned off entirely. Haley, at Riverpark, confusedly cited both rules, that they were "supposed to be off or like on vibrate (Charles,6). This shines line on how the line between different teachers might be hard for some students to understand because there is not a universal rule for phone use. It also is interesting how something as simple as a phone can empower students to feel older or make them feel like children. This also effects the relationship, because to have one you need respect from both sides. Other article have talked about how the teacher needs to take into consideration where the students comes from in order to form a relationship. When thinking about all the factors teachers have in there students they need to make sure they know what the home life is like to help them. Knowing what the home life or social status of a student gives a chance to find ways to connect (Siegel-Hawley, Frankenberg). Knowing the different status of a family also gives a chance to offer help in ways that you might not have thought about. For example if you know that a family is going through a hard time the educator might be able to offer assistance from the school. This goes into forming the acceptable relationship because a teacher needs to go about tis in a way that would help the student and ensure that they are not embarrassed by what they are doing. A teacher will need to be able to help on different levels for students and this is very important.

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This article and point relates back to something that I saw in my time at Shortridge. At the school one of the students was going through a rather difficult time at home and had to spend time going to court. When the student went there it was the teachers job to make sure that the students respected the privacy. It was also important that the teacher helped the student get more work done after they would return. The teacher does not want to discourage a student from getting the work done by over assigning. It is also important that the student feels they can talk to the teacher about what is going on if they need it when they get back. To have a successful classroom with student who are empowered the teacher needs a room in which they feel they have all students participating. When the different students participate this will give them a chance to make sure that the classroom environment is one that is empowered. In a math classroom it might be hard to make sure this happens but if the teacher keeps it interesting and moves around then they would be able to have these moments forming for different students (Henning, Foley, Balong). This semester I made it my goal to better understand how to keep control over a classroom while still empowering students to excel and grow. In addition to learning what types of relationships are acceptable between teacher and student to make sure that empowerment occurs. Based upon what I observed in classrooms in addition to looking at examples of what others have said, I believe as though I have gained an understanding. When giving a student a chance to go up and beyond what you ask you are allowing them to take the assignment and run. When you give this to them they are more likely to want to share what they are doing because they feel as though you respect them. This is something that will happen at different points of a childs academic career and teachers need to know that some might not be able to handle it. I have seen how when a teacher gives this freedom that it

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is important to monitor while not showing that they are as interested. This will help the student feel more like an adult in what they are doing. This semester I have also seen how to have a relationship with a student that shows that you are a friend, however not the type of friend they have on the playground. The teacher wants the student to feel as though they can trust them and to help them with what ever they are working on. The teacher cares about each student and wants to see him or her excel in the class and after the class and to see this the teacher need to maintain the relationship throughout the childs life. It is hard to keep this relationship when the student moves on from the school, but the student should feel as if they can contact the teacher for anything they might be working on. This semester has helped me to gain my knowledge of how to help the students. I believe that having these skills are something that will take many years to fully understand. This is something that I feel no teacher will ever master because each student is different and to empower them at different times might be difficult when working with him or her.

Empowerment and Relationships Sources Charles, A. S. (2012). Cell Phones: Rule-Setting, Rule-Breaking, and Relationships in Classrooms. American Secondary Education, 40(3), 4-16 Gosse, C. S., McGinty, A. S., Mashburn, A. J., Invernizzi, M., & Society For Research on Educational Effectiveness, (.(2012). The Role of Relational and Instructional Classroom Supports in the Language Development of At-Risk Preschoolers. Society For Research on Educational Effectiveness, Henning, J. E., McKeny, T., Foley, G. D.,& Balong, M.(2012). Mathematics Discussion by

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Design: Creating Opportunities for Purposeful Participation. Journal Of Mathematics Teacher Education, 15(6), 453-479 Koles, B., OConnor, E. E., &Collins, B.A.(2013). Association Between Children and Teacher Characteristics and Quality of Teacher- Child Relationships: The case of Hungary. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 21(1), 53-76 Reiser, B. J., Berland, L. K., & Kenuon, L.(2012). Engaging Students in Scientific Practices of Explanation and Argumentation. Science And Children, 49(8), 8-13 Siegel-Hawley, D., Frankenberg, E., & University of California, L. (2012). Spaces of Inclusion? Teachers Perceptions of School Communities with Differing Student Racial & Socioeconomic Conetxts. Civil Rights Project/ Proyecto Decechos Civiles,

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