As humans we crave relationships. We are relational beings. Need proof? Next time you go on a plane pay attention to how many people who are seemingly strangers will talk to each other for the duration of your trip. Relationships matter not only to us in society, they matter to us as educators. When I was in college, my education professors always put an emphasis on student relationships. Making sure we interact well with students. I wish that I could provide a silver bullet to developing relationships with students or a simple ten point checklist to follow to create better relationships with students, but the fact of the matter is that I would then be lying to you. It's funny. At points I have heard stories of some students who misbehave for some teachers. Those same students are like angels in my class; I love working with them. Sometimes I have students who challenge me but don't challenge their other teachers. Relationships depend entirely on t

The understanding of “how to" effectively and meaningfully engage others is critical to virtually every profession and organization on the planet.    This understanding is also critical to social interactions.   Further, it can have a tremendous positive impact on personal, professional and organizational goals toward success and achievement.  A few examples that come to mind: Engagement between a sales person and a consumer (new or returning) can “make or break” potential, current, or future transaction(s).   Thus, failure to understand engagement at the most basic level can impact a sales person’s financial goals, a business’s brand, and consumer satisfaction. Engagement between a student and a teacher can make a vast difference in the educational process as well as the growth of individual learners.   Copious amounts of research point to the “growth benefit” of safe student-teacher relationship(s) and the positive impact they have in the learning process.   All of wh