My First Year School Experience

Students in the classroom come from a variety of backgrounds. Their lives are shaped by their families, their communities, but also their peers in school whom they will spend hours a day with throughout their educational career. The ability to form relationships with others, to create lasting friendships that grow and evolve with time, is detrimental to all children and their development. Lacking the ability to do so, whether it is directly because of their conditions or because of how other students perceive them, can dramatically harm them emotionally and mentally.

The twenty-five stories that are contained in the book, My First Year As A Teacher, are about real teachers and their experiences during the first year of teaching. Each story is different. Some are about memorable students while other stories are about some of the hardships that are encountered as a novice teacher. The diverse sampling of stories in this book gives insight of what kind of problems one might encounter as a teacher, yet they also describe how rewarding the profession can be. I found it rather difficult to choose only ten stories as my favorite but after much consideration and rereading I decided on the following stories because in many ways I could relate to the students as well as the teachers that are given life in these stories.

All during Elementary School I couldn 't wait 'till Middle School no more taddle tails. A different teacher every day, No more cranky teacher for the whole day. Yeah! The best part about it is that there will be air conditioning. I know that sounds really weird but at my old school there was no air conditioning so at the end of the school year the rooms would get super hot and none of the teachers would want to turn on the fans because they were loud and the students would get really distracted. I know that sounds crazy.

From the perspective of students, positive student/teacher relationships are important in their schooling (Bernstein-Yamashiro and Noam, 29). These relationships are important because it gives students more motivation to come to school and to try harder in class (Bernstein-Yamashiro and Noam, 33). Some example of positive student/teacher relationship includes extra help, encouragement, motivation, learning their identity, how to form and maintain professional relationships, and develop socio-emotional skills (Bernstein-Yamashiro and Noam, 2013). Not only do students do well when they have positive relationships, teachers also benefit from them as they are satisfied when students put effort into their work (Bernstein-Yamashiro and Noam, 35). It is cited that a lack of connection to caring adults in school is a variable of alienation, failure, and dropout (Bernstein-Yamashiro and Noam, 17).

When students feel excluded or not part of, academic achievement decreases (Brown, 2007). The importance of a positive student-to-teacher relationship is critical in order for students to succeed and find themselves fit in the world of academia (Anderson, Nelson, Richardson, Web, & Young, 2011). Interestingly, the data gathered from this study is consistent with previous research on barriers to student achievement. Anderson et al., (2011) goes on to suggest that there is a direct correlation between student behavior, positive or negative, and the teacher’s relationship with a student. When considering this, it must be understood that the relationship between the student and teacher, whether positive or negative, contribute to students’ academic outcomes and sense of belonging.

The feeling of belonging might have a direct impact on students’ motivation and academic achievement (Goodenow, 1993a). For example, when a sense of belonging is achievable within the student’s social interactions, there is a belief and determination which drives them to seek to prove their worth both outside and within the academic setting (Goodenow, 1993a). Several studies revealed that there is a significant relationship between sense of belonging and students’ academic performance (Booker, 2006; Akar vural et al., 2013). Students’ academic effort and school success are affected not only by individual differences in skill or ability but are also influenced by social relationships at school. Goodenow investigated the relationship between the sense of belonging among students and their expectations, harbored values, motivation level, and achievement in several studies. The researcher also examined the relationship between sense of school membership, expectancy of success, value, and effort . Findings in both studies showed that there was a strong correlation between sense of accession, success expectation and overall input in efforts

A particularly stand-out concept of this semester was the noted correlation between a positive teacher—student relationship and improved classroom results. I volunteer as a classroom assistant at a low socioeconomic school and frequently witness breakdowns in teacher—student relationships first-hand. Classes at this school are often disproportionately filled with students whose educations are at-risk due to learning disabilities or dysfunctional home or social

When I started Unity High School I had a certain idea that I was not going to like the school but overall its a great school. My thought on how high school was going to be like was crowded people having a lot of school pride. How i thought to get through my first year in Unity High School was by doing all of my work being kind to others participating in class and following the classroom rules. I still do these thing because i think that they are great to start the school year with potential and not being a bad student. How i would complete my work in the beginning of the school is that when we had an assignment that was due next week i would do it that same day that they gave it to us because i thought that the teachers was going to check the

Sense of belonging is essential to be successful in school. Accordingly, sense of relatedness is considered as a resource for motivation in learning process. A strong sense of belonging has positive impact on students’ self-efficacy which eventually affects school performance. This study aims to investigate the influence of sense of belonging on students’ academic performance in the sixth grade. The present study focused on the impact of feelings of relatedness or connectedness to specific social partners such as teachers, parents, and friends. The sample of this study is composed of 200 students attending sixth grade of a primary school in Saudi Arabia. The study was carried out over two weeks. The result revealed that there is a significant

Developing a positive relationship with students ensures a mutual respect is developed. Control trust and intimacy are viewed as core dimensions of interpersonal relationships. Students who perceived their teachers as exhibiting higher levels of ‘shared control, trust and intimacy reported greater learning’ (Dobransky & Frymier, 2004). Thus proving the importance of developing a positive relationship with students within the classroom.

Within psychological research, friendships are defined as “unique, interpersonal, dyadic relationships characterised by affectionate attachment” (Amichai-Hamburger, Kingsburg & Schneider, 2013). We demonstrate meaningful close friendship qualities from staying connected with others through a sense of belonging (Baemeister & Keary, 1995; Buunk, Groothof & Siero, 2007).

The first year of college comes with many changes and challenges. These changes can include the food in the cafeteria, study habits, time management skills, and much more. Every student has to find their own way to handle the first year and determine what works best for them. For many the most essential change is living away from home. Campus life provides opportunities to become a part of a unique, diversified community. With these opportunities come challenges, such as having a roommate, being away from one’s parents, and determining self-limits.

Many educational researchers agree that the need for belonging is one of the most important needs of all for students to function well in all types of learning environments (Connell & Well Born, 1991; Deci & Ryan, 1991; Finn, 1989; Osterman, 2000). The feeling of belonging may have a direct and powerful influence on students’ motivation (Goodenow, 1993). For example, perceived support and the sense of belonging are expected to increase students beliefs in their success and accordingly to increase their academic motivation. In fact, studies consistently reveal that when students experience a sense of belonging in educational environments, they are more motivated, more engaged in

A student’s transition into elementary school marks a unique gateway into formal schooling that is encumbered with new demands and susceptible to new influences. Within the past few decades, researchers have used students’ school transitions as a context to examine the influence of student-teacher relationships (e.g., Birch & Ladd, 1997; Ewing & Taylor, 2009; Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004). The quality of these dyadic relationships is an important platform through which teachers instruct students and students acquire multifaceted knowledge from their teachers (Pianta, 1999). Researchers suggest that certain aspects of student-teacher relationships support and regulate students’ development, particularly during the early years (Pianta, 1999). Although these aspects include teachers’ instruction (e.g., explicit, systematic, etc.), they also include features of the classroom environment, such as teachers’ sensitivity and warmth, responsiveness, and verbal engagement (Downer, Sabol, & Hamre, 2010). When combinations of high quality and supportive instruction are embedded within students’ learning, students are able to interact constructively with their teachers and peers (Gallagher, Kainz, Vernon-Feagans, & White, 2013). More importantly, aspects of instructional and classroom environment encourage students to capitalize on available learning opportunities and to adjust to the expectations of formal schooling (Howes, Phillipsen, & Peisner-Feinberg, 2000). Components of

The first semester of my college is almost end, I felt confused and helpless when the class begin, there were all kinds of tasks that need me to do at the short time, my life was in a mass and I was just busy with keeping myself don’t left behind the class. At first, I felt so depressed about my expression in university because everything is so strange for me, while during this semester, with the help of people around me, I gradually get used to the new study life and feel more confident for the next semester. Thanks to the WPC101 class that helps me a lot on knowing what the business college need me to do.