A teacher has so many roles to play. One of the most important roles a teacher can play in a student’s life is simply being a person who they can feel a connection with. Education, classroom dynamics, technology, schools, teaching styles, teaching needs and priorities, and the whole world in general is in a constant state of change. Some fundamentals of childhood and learning remain the same. A child’s ability to learn is heavily dependant on a few things:
Children need to feel safe
Children need to feel cared for
Children need to feel known
Children need to feel a sense of community
Children need connection
A lot of weight falls on the shoulders of the teachers who aim to provide a safe setting to their students. With so many little people to keep track of, to get to know, and to understand their needs, creating those meaningful connections with students can be a heavy workload for teachers. Other challenges, such as time constraints, student reluctance, lack of support and experience can also impede a teacher’s ability to make those connections.
This website was created as a professional resource for teachers to use when trying to get to know and connect with their students. Under the menu item Journal Pages, you can find collections of printable pages to use as student-journal pages. These pages are designed to help students communicate with their teachers in a way that allows them to be creative, genuine, and private. Each page has different questions and prompts for different subjects and age groups which are meant to inspire reflection and open communication with their teacher. Under Journal Pages there are three different pages, including links to journal pages designed for students grades K-3, journal pages for students grades 4-7, and pages for teachers to use themselves. All pages can be printed off, handed out to students, used individually, or saved for specific occasions.