Does the Relationship Between Students and Teachers Matter?

Imagine you're having a bad day, but you can’t go to any of your friends because of the fear of being judged. So you go to class and your teacher notices that you're acting differently, so they ask about it, promising that they won’t judge you. Would a situation like this make you feel like having a friendly relationship with your teacher? Would you look forward to going to their class? 

Some people think that the relationship between students and teachers is insignificant and they think that students and teachers having a good relationship with each other is unusual and not needed. However, others think that students should have a good and healthy relationship with their teachers. Do you think that teachers having a relationship with students is important, or do you think that teachers should just teach without interacting with their students?

Students say that if their teachers make an effort to help them get good grades they enjoy the class more because they feel supported. An anonymous 8th grader said that she has an A in her favorite teacher's class. "She’s my favorite teacher because she is nice and will help you catch up on your missing assignments,” she added. This shows that students really appreciate when their teacher is kind to them and when they try to help them stay on the right track. However, they don’t like it when teachers make jokes about them in front of their class. The same student said, “My grade in my least favorite teacher's class is a B. They’re my least favorite teacher because [the teacher] makes fun of everybody in the class as a joke.” This shows us that the way you act around your students makes them either like you more or maybe they don’t agree with your actions and try not to participate in the class, making them earn a bad grade.

Some teachers at Fitz say that students only do well in class if it’s fun because they are immature and wouldn’t do the work if they thought they wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. The wonderful English teacher, Ms. Trujillo says that she makes her class very enjoyable. She says, “My class is the best. Everyone is always lining up to get in Ms. T’s class!” However, she also added that not all of her students get good grades even if she encourages them because they “are individuals, not machines.” This shows that the students are in charge of how they do in school because although they could have a good relationship with their teachers at the end of the day the teachers still have to be fair when they are grading. 

In conclusion, the relationship between teachers and students does matter because if the student appreciates how the teachers are with them they will try harder. However, that does not mean that all students will be like this and some students will just take advantage of how their teacher is. This means that although the relationship between teachers and students is important, students also have to get their part done and turn in their work or else they won’t have a good grade in the class.