Connection

Which teachers do you remember from elementary school? Chances are, the ones you remember the best are the ones you connected with the most.

Returning to Promesa has shown me just how important it is to connect with students. It has been a delight to see my students again, who have been generous with their hugs and smiles. The students are excited to have me in class again, and while very energetic, they have been respectful and joyful.

However, my first day with 1st grade was crazy, to put it simply. Little humans running around, standing on chairs, crawling under tables… Somehow I managed to learn all their names, but probably because I needed to use them so frequently. Yet the students in 1st grade are so dear! They simply had little prior connection with me, and didn’t know how to respond to a new person. I taught all of the other grades last year, so those classes knew me already. But I didn’t have the opportunity to teach the current first-graders last year, hence the need for us to establish connection. And connecting did not take long! By my second day with them, most greeted me with a group hug and cheers of “Miss Sara!” For the rest of the week they were calmer, more respectful, and more receptive. We just needed to get to know each other a little bit.

If we face reality, sometimes connecting takes years, and there are those who may never respond to our investment, but connection is worth the effort! As you relate with others, I hope you keep this little story in mind, and let it encourage you to keep establishing connection- with your students, children, colleagues, and anyone else in your life. There is power in connection, and the benefits will last as long as you are connecting!