Creating Connections: What I Wish You Knew

I always knew that the lives of my students outside of the classroom greatly impacted who they were in my classroom. And if I’m being honest, what was happening in my personal life always impacted who I was in the classroom. We all have so much going on in our lives and it’s hard to turn off our thoughts and feelings about one place or situation when we move into another. Teachers try their best to get to know what their students are going through at home, but sometimes it’s really hard for a student to find the time and space to share that information with their teachers. For those doing virtual learning, school is literally coming into our homes, so it’s more important than ever for students to feel safe sharing information about their home and personal lives with their teachers.

When looking for a way to support our teachers in building empathetic relationships with their students and families, I stumbled across Kyle Schwartz’s TEDx Talk.  Kyle shares how asking her students to complete the sentence, “I wish my teacher knew…” changed how she connected with them. She learned so much about her students and realized that using time in the classroom and establishing routines to connect to her students was not optional. In her talk, Kyle shares about how supporting our students emotionally, socially, and intellectually are all requirements. She didn’t stop doing this activity after the first time. She weaved in opportunities for students to share their stories into all that she did in her classroom because it was essential to their success. 

2020 is a year that we must prioritize empathy and connection in order for our children to succeed, and Kyle’s activity was exactly what I was looking for to share with our teachers as the school year begins.  We encourage all teachers, students, and parents to view this as an opportunity to connect. Tell your students something you wish they knew. Allow the parents of your students to share something with you. It could be done through a message on an app, an email, or by using our free, downloadable  “I wish you knew…” cards. Let’s all try to walk into the 2020 school year ready to listen, be open, and most importantly have empathy for one another.