How Can Teachers Help Students Be Successful
Teachers have dedicated their lives to helping their students be the most successful they can be.
It’s easy to get bogged down with all of the different types red tape and other things that are going on in and out of the classroom.
Teachers literally wear ten to fifteen hats that they wear every day.
It is amazing the multitasking that goes on and sometimes we just need the ability to focus down on what is really going to make their student the most successful.
I’ve broken down the top ten list on how teachers can help students be successful both outside and inside of the classroom.
1. Setting High Expectations
All teachers have heard this one before but this is something that really needs to be brought to light.
This is because many times children don’t even know what their level is or what they are capable of.
They don’t know what they can do and their idea of success is lower than what they are really able to do.
By setting high expectation and not letting them get away with just doing the mediocre it really makes them think and really makes them realize that they can rise to their potential.
Many times, they’ve been so used to just doing the mundane or as little as they can to get by that they don’t realize the benefits of taking it to the next level.
When setting high expectation this allows students to take their actions to a point where they are actually being successful.
It has been said that, “you like what you’re good at.”
When students get to that point and they’ve set themselves up intrinsically that they think, you know what, I am good at this!
When the teacher or parent believes that the child can meet these high goals they rise to the occasion.
2. Generally Caring
When you genuinely care the kids know it!
I think that many times we forget that kids can see through the different layers and kids can see how we’re really feeling inside.
The kids can see what is going on with us and when the teacher genuinely cares for the well-being of their students they will trust the teacher to lead them in a direction toward success.
Once again, as I mentioned, it’s easy to get bogged down in the paperwork, conferences, and everything else that we sometimes get into a robotic scenario where we’re just trying to get to A to B.
We must remember that just genuinely caring for the well-being and the education of their child is what is going let the student relax and lead them more toward their true potential.
Caring for students is really going to make a huge difference because just like setting high expectations when that child knows in their heart that you are there to see them succeed, they’re going to do leaps and bounds better for you.
They will do anything because they realize that you have their best interest at heart.
Teachers chose this profession because of the immense passion for children and their success.
They sacrifice the own pay and livelihood for that passion.
Many of these teachers could have been entertainers, lawyers, and doctors but they have a passion for students’ success.
Teaching is the ultimate sacrifice for the betterment for our society and community.
When that same caring that makes our world a better place is channeled into helping students succeed, students always win.
3. Modeling Success
How do you handle yourself in certain situations?
How do you handle yourself with certain students, parents and with administrators.
How so you roll with the punches and how positive are you?
All of these things are going to be modeled to the students and that’s a big part of parenting and teaching.
Kids learn far quicker through modeling.
When a child sees an adult handle situations in certain ways, when they see their attitudes and they see how they are able to roll with the punches it really does make a big difference.
We constantly have to remind ourselves that kids are always watching.
When you model success you are going to help represent success and subconsciously they are going to move toward it.
I think that a question that should always be on the back of parent’s and teacher’s minds is what am I modeling to my children or students?
We have been born to learn this way.
Children through watching, modeling or through seeing somebody handling a certain scenario will greatly impact a child far more than trying to teach the same concept in a different manner.
4. Differentiation
Many teachers and parents will see this with all the state testing and all the different curriculum it’s easy to get stuck in the standardized thought process.
How can we get better performance on these tests is many times what is on everyone’s minds.
Although the problems is that one size never fits all.
In order to help students reach their true potential the need for differentiated instruction is crucial.
What many people don’t realize is that this is no easy task.
Teachers and parents alike know that school districts just keep putting more kids in the classroom and that just one more individual that teachers must create, critique and help with their instruction and their education.
However hard it might be individualizing instruction is going to help students reach their goals the quickest.
It’s no different than when you’re dealing with somebody’s health.
The more individualized the prescription or guidance the healthier the patient will get.
When students are able to work at their own level the chances of success goes up ten fold.
5. Positive Reinforcement
Any time a child does anything good you need to let them know because that’s what allows them to realize that choice is a successful one.
When a teacher puts positive reinforcement in the forefront of their learning, their instruction, and their guidelines that is really going to be what helps make a great student.
Students are not going to be perfect and students are going to have difficulties.
Although, when you can find a something good about a bad situation that occurs with the student and you can pick out what is positive that really is going to make a big difference.
What students are going to see is that taking risks can be tough but when you find the positive in those things its going to help students propel forward to success.
Positive even in the situation that may not be so is going to help propel them to the next level.
6. Cultivate A Successful Risk Tolerance
Children need to take risks!
They need to take a chance and when we set up an environment where risk-taking is celebrated and not looked at as failing then the process of success can develop.
When we take a risk, we don’t lose, we learn.
Many times, taking a risk is something that takes us out of our comfort zone.
It takes us to a place where we don’t necessarily know the answer. We might not get that answer.
We may “fail” at that situation, but as we now know we do more learning when we lose than we do with winning.
This allows the conversation of “why did this not go well” or why did I not accomplish what I wanted today?” or “ What would I have done differently?” to be had with the students.
These conversations will lead to answers that will help kids move toward success.
Students should starts seeing failure in a different manner.
Students should see failure as giving up not as losing or not accomplishing their goal the first time.
When losing is seen as a learning process then persistence comes into play and when that happens the path to success gets a lot shorter.
7. Creating Study Habits
We should always encourage students to be lifetime learners.
Many times that includes researching and studying.
Good study habits are going to be the foundation to continuing their learning for the rest of their lives.
If we have set up an understanding that successful people never stop learning and researching and studying are a crucial part of this process then its easier for students to connect the dots with good study habits and success.
Many students will be doing homework, projects and other learning processes all the way through the end of high school and into college if they choose that route.
Even if they don’t choose college their need for good study habits is just as important.
They will still need to learn a skill and in order to get proficient at a skill it take a lot of practice and studying their craft.
In order to set up good study habits its important to set up study routines.
This might look different based on the student’s needs but the idea is to set up a routine that works for the student and make it a process that they can be successful at.
When researching and studying becomes a part of student’s daily routine then they will find it much easier to keep ahead of their schoolwork and when they are comfortable in that regard they are more likely to successful all aspects of their school career.
Check out 22 Study Habits That Guarantee Good Grades for a great place to start
8. Setting A Goal Mentality
We hear motivational speakers and other people talk about setting goals but it is rarely ever talked about with students.
I think as a teacher, setting a child up for success means talking to them and helping them set up individual goals.
Teaching students goal setting connects very well with the learning of persistence and expectations.
Sometimes students will not accomplish their goal and in that process they will really learn what it means to be persistent and what it is like to live up to their own expectations.
Discussing and helping set up a goal for a child will also them to realize that the expectation that they had of themselves can be even greater than they originally thought.
Once a child sees themselves as someone who is goal orientated and is able to accomplish those goals they are more likely to continue with making goal setting an everyday part of life.
When setting goals and accomplishing then becomes part of everyday life for a student then they are able to stack their accomplishment on top of each other and reach an even higher level of success than they though was possible.
9. Thinking Outside The Box
One of the best ways to help a child be successful is to allow them to start seeing things in a different manner or through a different lens than they are used to.
It is easy to get stuck in one way to thinking that we almost have to train our kids and help them realize that there are multiple different options and that when we work collaboratively with other students we start seeing that there’s other ways to think about a problem.
When we give are students the chance to practice seeing things from different angles we start cultivating in their own brain that maybe there’s more than one way and maybe the way I’m thinking about it right now isn’t necessarily the best way to think about a certain problem or situation.
This is also a great way to introduce the concept of asking for other people’s opinions on how to solve a problem and use other people’s insights to craft a better solution for themselves.
Regardless of which strategies a students uses, the fact they are practicing the ability to look at a problem in many different ways is a huge step in the right direction toward success.
10. Parents and Teachers Working Together
When parents and teachers work together amazing things happen!
You can’t beat a team of parents, teachers, administration, and grandparents all working together on a common goal to best help their child and student.
I really does take a team effort!
When the school staff and the parent are on the same page it really does allow everybody to help with that child’s individual’s success and help support their individual goals.
A child could be the class social butterfly but they need academic help.
There are a thousand different combinations that could help accommodate this child but when the parents can give their point of view of what’s happening and the teacher can give their point of view both can come up with the best plan for the child’s social emotional health as well as their academics.
This collaboration of both the teacher’s and parent’s ideas will boost the child’s chance of success dramatically.
Check out our article- Points To Discuss For A Successful Parent-Teacher Meeting
