Hello and Happy Friday from Literacy Connexus everyone. I hope that this blog post finds you, happy, healthy, and *cool* (is it hot or what y’all?).
Today, I want to do a little flashback Friday and re-share a post I wrote right after New Year’s. As we head into yet another school year, I think that it’s important that we continue to support our students – even beyond our classrooms.
As an English teacher, it can be tempting, at the start of a new year, to dive headfirst into your lessons with a renewed focus on conquering their English language goals. But, don’t forget about continuing to build those relationships with your students and supporting your students – even beyond the classroom.
Our students grace our classrooms with their presence because they have language and literacy needs. But although the English language may be what brought them to our doors, it’s likely that their needs don’t simply stop at needing to learn English. Some of our students also need support in their jobs, with family literacy, citizenship, healthcare, and may even need food and financial support.
Now I don’t expect ESL teachers to run out and start feeding the entire community and tutoring all of their children (although if you have the time, money, and energy – more power to ya’!). But don’t let the knowledge you share stop at just English!
Share as many resources as you can with your students! Those job fair flyers on Facebook? Share it. The food bank locations and dates you heard on the radio this morning? Share them! Show them how to use a local library card to download and read ebooks to their children (with the added benefit of extra English practice). Help them use their library cards to log into LinkedIn learning and brush up on those job skills. Offer to look at their resumes, or serve as a reference.
These things may seem simple to us, but these extra steps go an incredibly long way in building relationships and establishing ourselves as a part of their support system. This is a wonderful way to make your way from teacher to friend in your students’ lives. Additionally, demonstrating that extra level of care and interest in our students’ needs and wellbeing will keep them coming to class again and again – and it’s much easier to teach a present student.
I’ve only listed a handful of ways to support our students in this post, but there are tons of ways you can support your students beyond the classroom. What is your favorite way to be there for your students outside of your English lessons? Let us know in the comments.
Don’t be shy, go ahead and subscribe! We’ve got big plans this year – make sure to stick around to see what we’ve got in store.
Until next time, blessings and happy teaching!