Not long ago, I had a student who seemed unmotivated during our math classes. It’s my 21st year of teaching, but when moments like that happen, it’s still not always easy to figure out. I tried one strategy after another to get my student invested in our learning, and none of them worked. I know for early career educators, it can be so stressful to feel like your strategies aren’t resonating with a student. I want to share a perspective I always return to: Your belief is powerful.

When students know that we believe in them, it can transform the way they experience learning in our classrooms. But because my student couldn’t really engage with math, she couldn’t really engage with the idea that I believed in her as a math learner. I needed to create some space and opportunity for her just to engage with ME. I made a resolution to build up trust with her in simple ways that wouldn’t pressure her about making progress. I relied on 3 daily practices, and I want to share them with you:

1. Listen to your students. Listen with your whole body. Stop what you are doing. Look at them. Hear their concerns and ask follow-up questions. Remind them often that you are a resource and there to help. Do what you say you will do.

2. Learn about your students. Learn their names quickly. Ask about extracurricular activities. Congratulate them on their performance in the big game or the band concert. Learn about their cultures and their families. Consider ways to incorporate their cultures, likes and dislikes in lessons. Laugh with your students.

3. Lead with grace. When students make mistakes, when they are late or when they don’t behave appropriately, always respond in a graceful manner. Speak softly. Seek understanding. Ask questions while holding them to high expectations. Treat them with kindness.

Over time, these three practices created enough trust that my student began to let me know what her experience in my class was like, starting with one big challenge she was facing: She couldn’t see very well. Content posted on the board, on the screen or even on anchor charts was inaccessible to her because of her vision. Supporting her journey to getting her glasses made a huge difference, but it was also just the first step in getting her to feel capable of participating and learning in class.

I continued to try strategies to boost her confidence in math. Sometimes, like before, they didn’t work – but even when she couldn’t connect with math, I made sure she could connect with me. She knew we were struggling all semester, but she knew we were struggling together. By the end of the semester, she had built up some confidence in her ability to do math. She left me a note with a hand drawn picture of her and I along with a simple sentence: “Thank you for believing in me.” Now she’s the kind of student who stops me in the hall, because she’s excited to tell me how she’s doing in her new classes and what’s going on in her life. 

We teachers show up at school because we believe in the power of education, but also because we simply believe in our kids. We need to make sure our students know that – and we need to remind ourselves of that, too. On days when our teaching tools are working and on days when they aren’t, our belief in our students is always working. Our belief is powerful. Your belief is powerful.