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The Power of Personal Relationships: Article Review Josh Campbell Education 4850 Keith Roscoe September 23, 2013

2 Introduction: The Power of Personal Relationships is an article written by Thomas Mawhinney and Laura Sagan. I found this article to be very useful in regards to the topic of classroom management. This is because during my time as a student in the education program I have come to realize that classroom management is a huge topic that encompasses a wide variety of different aspects and features within a classroom setting. A handout I was given in this class states ten components to successful classroom management. This is meaningful because the number one component on this list is building positive relationships. This includes positive relationships between the teacher and individual students, groups of students as well as between the teacher and parents. I chose this article because I also believe that positive relationships are the most facet of classroom management. The article provides strong arguments for the building of positive personal relationships between teachers and their students. Article Summary: The first thing that the article states, is, Teachers and administrators are often directed to distance themselves from the children in their charge. Despite the land mines that accompany personal relationships with students, Mr. Mawhinney and Ms. Sagan argue that educators can still learn to build warm and loving communities of learners(Mawhinney & Sagan, 2007, p. 460). This quote is significant because it shows that right from the start of this article the authors are trying to emphasize the point that relationships must be made and classrooms must be a place where students feel safe and cared for. That is something that I agree with; especially after spending time in classrooms myself during my first two professional semesters. During my practica I noticed that students do not respond well to teachers that they do not like and vice versa. After watching various problem

3 situations unfold I realized that students were most combative towards teachers that they had some sort of animosity towards. If a positive relationship was not in place it was very hard to get through to the student. As Wong states, discipline has little to do with classroom management (Wong, 2009, p. 12). Punishment was ineffective; the teacher must be able to get through to the student before they would come around. Also, the article is very easy to follow. By this I mean that it is organized well and also has functionality. It provides steps and instruction on how to begin building positive relationships, important traits for an effective teacher to have and how to build the warm, safe community atmosphere that every classroom should aim to have. Commentary: This article is very well written and seamlessly includes methods to improve ones classroom management abilities along with scenarios in which they fit. I really like the intro paragraph because it shows issues from the perspective of a student. It gives a scenario where a student is trying not to be late for a class but has to deal with unexpected personal circumstances that cause her to be late. Instead of berating her, the teacher warmly welcomes her into the classroom and carries on with the lesson (Mawhinney & Sagan, 2007, p. 460). This is a powerful segment because then it goes on to say that the student had experienced the power of personal relationship building, instead of being hostile towards the student, the teacher made her feel welcome and as a result, ready to learn (p. 460). By putting this message in a real life scenario it makes the article feel real. This is a situation which could occur to almost any student and it is important that teachers do not forget that things like this can happen. It is up to us to ensure that student fulfill their potential while in the classroom so our role is to give them every chance to do that. Punishing students over issues that they have no control over will not only hinder that, but it will hurt their relationship with the teacher moving forward and make further interactions much more difficult.

4 As stated in The First Days of School by Harry and Rosemary Wong, effective teachers impact lives (Wong, 2009, p. 8). Effectively run classrooms are centred on the relationships that are built between student and teacher; the more positive they are, the better the class will be run (p. 8). The Wongs are well known teachers of classroom management; they are widely respected in the field. As a result I take their information seriously. This article links to their teachings in one of the sections which is about contacting students personal worlds (Mawhinney & Sagan, 2007, p. 461). The article gives many methods with which a teacher can do this, but one of the more powerful statements in the section is, knowing your students and allowing them to know you (p. 461). This serves as a reminder to teachers that it is important that relationships are a two way process. Students will find it easier to trust and get to know someone that they know a little bit about themselves. I agree with Mawhinney and Sagan that it is not fair or reasonable to ask students to give so much of themselves to a classroom and teacher and get nothing back. As stated in another article on the subject of building relationships, you have to make that social and emotional connection with kids in order to get inside their [students] heads. . . . The fact that you care makes them see you differently (Wolk, 2003, p. 15). Clearly, the article by Sagan and Mawhinney is not bringing much new information to light; instead it is going further into detail about how and why building relationships should be done. Based on my own experiences within the classroom setting I have taken several things from this article that I hope to integrate into my own teaching practice. I will do my utmost to ensure that I create a positive learning environment within my classroom in the future. I have seen and unfortunately been in classrooms where that was not the case and know what happens as a result. Learning is not as seamless as it could be and the students do not want to be there. I will make sure that my students know that I am there for them and that the classroom is a safe place. Learning will be the most important goal within the classroom but I do everything I can to ensure that my students always feel welcome!

5 Conclusion: Overall, I believe that this is an excellent article. It is written in a way that is very accessible to anyone who has been in a classroom setting. The main points of the article are very clear and well defined. Building positive relationships in a classroom setting is one of the most important steps towards having success; both as a student and a teacher. Not only does it have a clear thesis, it defends it using real life scenarios combined with facts gathered from a wide variety of sources. By providing the readers with well-organized lists of different tactics and methods that they can use in a classroom the article also has a practical aspect. Instead of just discussing theories and ideas it gives tips and strategies that can be utilized within a classroom. Some of these are as simple as, even using students names when repeating or rephrasing a comment is a powerful teaching and personal-relationship-building move (Mawhinney & Sagan, 2007, p. 462). Even tips like, smiling often, being polite and not interrupting (p. 463) are very useful to teachers. It is a very enjoyable read that has lots of valuable information to current and future teachers alike.

6 References Mawhinney, T.S. & Sagan, L.L. (2007). The Power of Personal Relationships. Phi Delta Kappan 88 (6). http://www.pdkmembers.org/members_online/publications/Archive/pdf/k0702maw.pdf Wolk, S. (2003). Hearts and Minds: Classroom relationships and learning interact. Educational Leadership, 61 (1). http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept03/vol61/num01/Hearts-and-Minds.aspx Wong, H. & Wong, R. (2009). The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher. Harry K. Wong Publications Inc.