Positive relationships

Teaching positive relationships

Age group

The lesson is for Middle school students.

Standards

Students will acquire knowledge on how to effectively foster positive peer and teacher-student relationships.

Student competencies

Students will identify positive approaches to developing teacher-student relationship

Students will identify positive approaches to developing student-student relationship

Students will identify strategies to address bullying

Students will learn how to manage relationships

Materials

Lesson materials

Supporting materials on promote positive relationships

Lesson 1: Determining the strengths of every student in the classroom

One way to build resilience is by encouraging students to strengthen their relationships through increasing awareness of the strength of their peers in the classroom.

Group Activity 1

1. Think about an individual you respect or admire in some way

2. The person must be someone you have met

3. They might include a friend, a relative or a colleague

4. Draw a figure of that person

5. Around the figure, brainstorm the strengths or qualities you admire about the person.

6. Share the qualities with group members

Group Activity 2 

1. Close your eyes and recall a friendly experience with an adult or family member.

2. What were you doing?

3.  Share the experience with other group members.

4. Choose one friendship act that you remember and draw a picture.

5. Add a short story to your picture

Questions

What practices do people do to show kindness?

How does the quality of your relationship influence students’ well-being?

Comments

The quality of student-student and student-teacher relationships significantly affects students overall school experience.  Positive relationships such as inclusion, support, and friendship result in positive outcomes. The self-awareness of strengths helps build a sense of pride and recognition that is important in building positive relationships.

Conclusion

Positive student-student and student-teacher relationships are significantly associated with cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and behavioral engagement.  When people are aware of each other’s strengths, they are likely to embrace others for who they are.  Taking an interest in other people’s lives, interests, dreams, dislikes is a powerful strategy to build positive relationships. When individuals realize they have more similarities, they become comfortable with each other.

Lesson 2: Help-seeking scenario

Scenario 1

Harry is sometimes teased by other students. The teacher is not aware of the situation since no student teases him in front of the teacher.

Discussion questions

1. How should students respond to a help-seeking student?

2. Who could the student ask to help?

Scenario 2

Ann is worried about a friend.  A friend has been having suicidal thoughts. However, Ann promised to tell no one if her friend confided in her.

Discussion questions

1. What should Ann do? Identify the positives and negatives of the choices and propose the best alternative

2. Which strengths would a person need to carry out the advice? (bravery, integrity)

3. Is the advice safe? Is it legal? How will it affect others? Could anyone be harmed? How will you feel about it afterward?

4. Collect group responses.

Comment

Individuals have different styles of coping with difficulties.  Some of the best solutions do not reflect the desires of the student seeking help.  Seeking help is often affected by one's feeling of doubt or uncertainty towards a situation.   The feeling of doubt may decrease the likelihood of asking for help or increase the negative perceptions of help-seeking behavior.  Students may not always be in the capacity to help other students. Students-teacher relationship is important in the school experience.

Conclusion

Students should evaluate all the important factors when making decisions.  Various factors involved in the problem should be analyzed and evaluated. The key ones should be identified and highlighted. These form the critical factors upon which decisions will hinge. Before deciding the action, the purpose of the decision, as well as the expected outcome, should be clarified. This way, key priorities can be determined. A list of solutions to the problem should first be created without trying to narrow them down.  Brainstorming always helps. The best solution is the safest, legal, positively affects others, does not harm anyone and will make you feel good about it afterward. 

Reference

Johnson, B. (2008). Teacher-student relationships: promote resilience at school. Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 36(4), 385-398.

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