rebelling against low expectations

How can I encourage my teachers?

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ANONYMOUS WRITES: How can I be a blessing to my teachers? I work hard and I try to interact positively with them, but what are practical things I can do to encourage them or witness to them? I’d love to hear from home-schooled students, public schoolers, college students. I have multiple professors, but my brother’s still homeschooled. How can we make the most of our year by building up our teachers?


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25 comments

  • I think that a good thing to do is support them when they aren’t around. Meaning that we other students throw shade at teachers, kinda talk positively about your teacher. I think this will be helpful because if you change the other kids opinion about teachers and even learning, the teachers will have an easier job. That’s just one way I thought could help encourage your teacher, good job with the way your interacting with them. I’m sure some of you other guys have a few ideas too.

  • Hmm, this will be good for me to take notes of. I’m homeschooled, and just started a class outside of my home for school. The first day was last week, so I haven’t exactly had time to get to know my teacher or be around him a lot. I thanked him for teaching the class, but he just looked at me and didn’t even respond. So I’m not for sure how best to be a blessing. The other kids in my class are kind of loud, or uber-shy, and I know that sometimes both kinds of people can be annoying. And I’m naturally shy when I’m in a setting like that, so coming out of my shell there is going to be a challenge. So, I don’t have any great advice, but we’re faced with similar challenges, sorta.

  • Hey there Anonymous! =) This is a really great question. I’ll start out by saying I’m home-schooled. However, I attended a private Christian school for a couple years as well in my younger years. One thing I always loved to do for my teachers was to throw them a birthday party on their b-day. I was in a small school of 100 kids where the principal was everyone’s best friend, so I had a bit more flexibility to use part of a school day for a party. but i think even in a public school setting, someone could still manage to throw a party! I know hte teachers always loved it and it was a great time to laugh and have fun with our teacher! =D It can also be a time used to encourage a teacher by having each student name their favorite thing about the teacher!
    Also, I think just in general, giving them your time to just talk and get to know each other means a lot to them!

  • As a homeschooler, I don’t have a lot of good advice on this subject for group classes. However, I really enjoy writing small notes to encourage my teacher(i.e. Mom). Since I’m a letter writer by nature, I love to hand make little three-by-three cards and then write something encouraging in them. Also, something that my Mom always smiles at when i do is when I buy her a Kit Kat, her favorite candy bar, and leave it somewhere for her. So figure out somehow what your teacher’s favorite candy bar is and then occasionally leave it somewhere for them anonymously. Beyond being respectful and a good student who is involved in the class, those are my suggestions.

  • Sometimes around a Christmas, I will bake bread or something as a gift for my professors or at Thanksgiving I sometimes write a card thanking my teachers or professors for all they do. Also just simply thanking them after a lecture. I guess those are a couple little things you could. 😉

  • Sometimes, to start out, the best thing you can do is to make the effort to do well in the class. Seriously. When you pay attention in class, do your homework on time, and put real thought and effort into that subject, your teacher will notice. Ask questions when you have them (most of my teachers are more than willing to let me email them with questions if I didn’t get a chance to in class). If it isn’t your best subject, spend extra time making sure you understand concepts, and ask your teachers for extra help. They’ll probably be happy to do this; when you do well as a student, it makes them look good as a teacher and helps them keep their job. And of course, as others have mentioned below, be kind and respectful of your teachers, and don’t complain about them behind their backs. They’re real human beings, and (usually) truly not scary. 🙂

  • -Try your best to see them as people.
    -Show that you respect their time by showing your interest in their classes.
    -Pray for them and tell them that you are praying.
    -Encourage them by telling them what you like about their teaching.
    -Write them a note at the end of the year telling them how they helped changed you life for the better.
    -Tell other people about the things they excel at.

  • This is a great question! I’ve been trying to do the same things, and I agree that the first thing is to do well and try hard. It gives you credibility. One thing I’ve found to be great is saying thank you, which, though it’s small, can make a big difference. Also, I have a Spanish class where the teacher has a really hard time keeping control. I gave her a note saying thank you and telling her that I’m praying for her. Also, staying just a few extra seconds to pick up trash and such also helps.

  • Doing your best in all you do, doing it with a respectful, good, cooperative attitude for your teacher. Encouraging them, thanking them for their hard work, sending them kind encouraging notes, even asking to pray for them if it seems like their having a rough day is a great way to share Christ.

  • the best thing u can do is to listen to your teacher and be good.Dont lie to ur teacher and parents about doing ur homework.

  • Your attitude can say a lot; come ready and eager to learn; smile and
    greet them when you enter the classroom and smile and say thank you when
    you leave…(might be hard you’re in a college lecture hall). Also if
    you know they’ve had a bad day you can always do something for them like
    writing a note or bringing a gift. My Spanish class last year was so
    rude to the teacher, and when it was especially bad one time, I left
    roses and a anonymous note on her desk the next day. They made her so,
    so happy… I think the little things that show you realize that they
    are a person too go along way.

  • What a great question! This is what I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I would love to encourage my teachers. Tell them they do a good job, smile at them or just say that I’m thankful you for the class. BUT my problem is that I don’t want look like a groverler. 🙁 I’m afraid of it and this makes me sad. What if they will think that I do all those “nice” things just because I need to get better grade… Maybe I should start with leaving them notes anonymously or something like that… What do you think?

  • I think a great and pretty easy way would be to make sure you always say hello when you see them. Just being polite. Although two things that I do is, maybe at the end of th quarter, semester, and/or year you can write them a simple thank you note telling them how much you enjoyed the class or how glad you were to be in thier class. Simple things like that always encourages the teachers.
    The last way i can think of off the top of my head is little gifts every once and a while. A couple of my friends will go to out to lunch and bring back a smoothie, cookie, or even a sub for some teachers. This always makes them happy I would say because it makes them know you actually enjoy thier class and you actually like them.
    I hope this helps you!

rebelling against low expectations

The Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations—a worldwide campaign to reject apathy, embrace responsibility, and do hard things. Learn More →