The Importance of Good Relationships between Student and Teacher

One of the most deeply inspirational relationships is that of a devoted teacher and a willing student. Almost everyone has had a favorite teacher and, unfortunately, most of us have also had those we liked far less. My 2e daughter adored the teacher who, noting her skill at public speaking and love of reading, invited her to give a speech introducing a favorite author at a reading conference. My 2e son appreciated the teacher who talked with him as an equal, shared his own abundant enthusiasm for the subject, and made him feel they were peers in learning. Both children had other teachers who found their inattentiveness frustrating, their constant questions to be off-topic, and their poor spelling and handwriting to be migraine-inducing. Unfortunately my children remember them as well.

What causes us to harbor such powerful sentiments of respect and affection (or lasting dislike)? The answer is simple. It’s the quality of the student-teacher relationship.