Caroline Vincent, Reporter
@cvincentcourant
According to the NCHS mission statement, “we strive to inspire students to the habits of mind and character that will make them lifelong learners.” This goal is met mainly with strong student-teacher relationships, who help foster student’s love for particular subjects.
Many students, including Sophomore Cece Peter, believe that trusting teachers is fundamental in succeeding in school. “I think that forming strong student-teacher relationships is really crucial to success because then you feel comfortable asking your teacher questions, asking for extra help, and even getting opinions on social things,” Cece said.
It can be overwhelming to students when they feel like they have no one to talk during school, but having a trusted teacher whom a student feels comfortable opening up to can help eliminate stress. “It is crucial for students to always have an adult at school to help them out,” Cece said.
Assistant Principal Ari Rothman thinks that strong teacher-student relationships are an important part of school culture. “If I am trying to help you learn something, and you are not comfortable with me, and you do not trust me, then you are not going to learn as well as you can,” he said.
For upperclassmen, strong student-teacher relationships are crucial for college applications when asking a teacher for a recommendation letter. “If you’re first establishing a relationship with a teacher to get the recommendation, then an opportunity has been missed,” Mr. Rothman said. “When a student needs help, that’s the one on one, that’s the two-way street, if your one of twenty-something kids in a class, and I’m gonna make it my business and my effort to get to know you and get comfortable, and vice versa, the opportunity to also know you individually and work with you on the work is going to help me teach you better,” Mr. Rothman said.
Senior Paula Graham is especially close to her former math teacher, Ms. Treglio. “She was my math teacher junior year, which is a pretty stressful year. But she was always giving me advice on how to balance school life with life outside of school, which I obviously really appreciated. You could tell that she really really cared, not only about me but about all her students. Just to have a teacher like that who would take the time to ask you how your day went or how your weekend was and making sure that you don’t get too stressed is really nice,” Paula said.
Teachers have the ability to impact students’ lives beyond high school, and it is important for students and teachers to understand the impact that their relationship could have.
“Just to have such a good experience with math in Ms. Treglio’s class has inspired me to pursue a math-based career in college and beyond. And she has been so helpful throughout the college process. She volunteered her time to read through my college essays when applying to business schools and stuff like that,” Paula said.
Students should not feel pressure to force relationships with teachers. Instead, they should find common interests with their teachers, which will allow them to open their doors to discussion and bonding.
Choir teacher, Sarah Gleason, is known by many of her students as a teacher that they can trust and go to whenever they have problems. Her and sophomore Avery Russey have a particularly close bond. “She’s just like my school mom. She has a very open classroom, and whenever I’m sad, I just come in here and drink tea or eat food, and I think that just makes me feel better,” Avery said. For students, having this type of space can be immensely crucial in fostering a successful learning environment.
“I’ve always said that I teach teenagers, I just happen to love music and want to share it with them, I don’t teach music, I teach you guys,” Ms. Gleason said.
For some teachers, it can be challenging to connect with students. Ms. Gleason said, “I don’t really have any advice for other teachers because everyone connects with students in a different way; it’s just important to find how you best connect with them.”
Teachers and students should try their best to find common ground with one another in order to further their relationship. “Overall, I just think that student-teacher relationships are super important because when push comes to shove, no matter what problems you may be having at home or with friends it’s good to know you have someone you can go to for advice or maybe just some snacks,” Avery said.
