“If you
want to go fast, go alone. If you want
to go far, go together.”
African Proverb
African Proverb
Building
relationships come in many forms at Goodrich School. It could be something as
simple as a greeting in the morning to the more complex Kagan structures of
classbuilding and teambuilding used daily by teachers.
So why do we take
the time to build relationships in our classrooms?
In a traditional
classroom, where students work alone without cooperative learning, they are
not prepared for what lies ahead of them in their careers after school. They
have to be prepared for fast-paced, competitive and changing environments. They
have to be prepared to be problem solvers and innovators. They have to be
prepared to work closely with others, even if they work hundreds of miles away
from each other. Teamwork is what is being asked of employees, and working alone
in the classroom will not prepare our kids for this new working world.
At Goodrich School
we work to build relationships not only between teacher and student, but also
between students. Positive relationships promote teamwork, interdependence,
empathy, responsibility, and respect. Everything someone will need to work in
any career.
Our students know and
understand why relationship building is an important part of our day. Here is
what some of them had to say about relationship building and why it is important.
"It helps us get
along.” – Gabriella
“It will help when
we need to build relationships in our future.” – Jake
“We are able to
stand up for one another.” – Gurveer
“We are making an
important connection with people
to have friendships for a long time.” – Dazlyn
to have friendships for a long time.” – Dazlyn
“We learn from our
mistakes with our classmates. We trust them not to laugh at us so we can learn
from the mistakes we make.” – Camila
“We learn to
appreciate the ideas of others.” – Jillian
As you can see,
the students understand why relationship building is so important. It is why
they go the extra mile during our classbuilding and teambuilding sessions. They
know that this is about their future.
The biggest
success story that I have seen in my classroom, in the past four years of
building relationships with Kagan cooperative learning has been how my students
have become a community of learners helping each other out when someone needs
it, even without prompting from me. We are starting to see students transfer on
their own what we structure for them in the classroom with cooperative
learning!
This should be celebrated by both teacher and students!
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