Dixon Gerber
McKay Student Ambassador
Elementary Education
When it comes to building a relationship with other people, communication is key. Any healthy relationship depends on communication and understanding. See how communication has helped me develop relationships with my classmates, teachers, and mentors.
Relationships With Fellow Students
Building relationships with other students is important when it comes to the education programs. You will frequently find yourself in the same classes with the same people. In my Early Childhood Education class last semester, I had an amazing opportunity to work with a group of students who had the same class as me. We started off not really knowing each other very well. We mostly worked on group assignments at first. However, by the middle of the semester, we trusted each other and would frequently remind one another of upcoming assignments we had. By the end of the semester, I felt comfortable enough to invite my new group of friends over for a game night. This was the first time we were able to spend time outside of class together, and it was an amazing opportunity to build a relationship with my fellow classmates. It is an amazing opportunity to build relationships with people who share your same passion for helping generations to come grow and be contributing members of society! These fellow classmates could very well end up being your co-workers in the future.
Relationships With Professors
Having a good relationship with your professors helps whether or not you struggle in class. Many, if not all, of these education professors have many years of experience teaching. They understand what it is like to teach. They know what they are talking about and learning from them is an amazing opportunity to learn how to be the best educator you can be. A couple of years ago, I took Children's Literature from Professor Paul Ricks. It quickly became one of my favorite classes. I loved his teaching style and I felt seen in his class. He asked me about my hobbies and took interest in my interests. However, I still started to fall behind with assignments. I reached out to him because I felt like I could talk to him. He was very understanding and allowed me to turn in my assignments late. I knew there was going to be a big point reduction, but getting points was better than not turning in the assignments. In the end, I did retake the class--I wouldn't dream to take Children's Literature from any other professor. In my experience, I have found the professors very understanding and willing to work with me through anything that I'm working on. You just have to reach out.
Relationships With Mentors
Throughout your experience as an education major, you will have the opportunity to meet with and be mentored by various professionals. Practicum is one of these amazing opportunities to have a mentor. Personally, my mentor teacher during the first practicum had been teaching since 1975 and was in her last year teaching. I wish I would have been able to learn more from her. Every time I taught, she took notes and said what I did well and what I could work on. I learned a lot about what I could be doing better, but I had a hard time applying what I was learning from her. I felt like we did have a good relationship where she felt comfortable giving me harsher feedback because she wanted to help me be the best teacher I could possibly be. I frequently felt overwhelmed with all the feedback and tried to work on one thing at a time. This was frustrating for my mentor teacher because she expected more from me. I constantly felt like I wasn't doing enough and I didn't know what exactly she wanted me to do, specifically with lesson plans. It took time for us to really connect with the expectations and some guidance with writing lesson plans. With about a week and a half left of practicum, I finally felt like I had my feet underneath me enough to bring a lesson plan to my mentor teacher and ask her what I could do to improve these lessons. I felt more confident as she looked through my lesson plans and liked the direction I was going. It was a very unique opportunity to learn from a mentor who has more years of experience than I have being alive. I look forward to being able to learn from more mentors.
Conclusion
Forming relationships with one another will allow you to learn from one another. This learning won't be possible without these relationships. As you learn to communicate with one another and come to understand one another, you will naturally teach one another in ways you hadn't thought of before. I continue to learn from my peers, my teachers, and mentors every day. I wouldn't have it any other way.
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