I am the only teacher at my school who does not give out my cell phone number to my advisory (otherwise known as "homeroom") students. While the other teachers at my school have assured me that their students only use their phone numbers to text them and tell them that they are not coming to school on a given day, I don't trust that my students wouldn't abuse the power of knowing my phone number, so I don't give it out for any reason.
I have taught at a charter high school since the beginning of the 2014/2015 school year, and while my overall experience in this school environment has been positive and comfortable, I have occasionally had students make awkward comments to me. Students have asked me to go to parties or have asked for permission to call me by my first name. I have to remind them that no, none of that is okay, because I am their teacher and not a fellow student. In talking to my co-workers about these comments, I found that one other young female teacher has dealt with similar awkward/invasive questions from students, and she has also reminded students to respect the student/teacher boundaries.
One of the challenges of my teaching career so far has been maintaining the aura of being an adult authority figure around all of my students for the full duration of the school year. The beginning of the school year is fine, but over time, when my students get to know me, some of them seem to start seeing me as more of an "older sister" figure than that of an adult who is trying to guide them towards achieving academic success. This has happened both last year at the middle school level and, to a greater extent, this year with high school students.
In some ways, I get it: I'm small, soft spoken, and have an overall non-threatening demeanor. It may be difficult for my high school students to view a person who is only 8-11 years their senior as a parental figure, as a person my age is too young to have a child in the high school age range. Add to that the fact that this person looks like she could be one of their peers, and we are left with some confused students.
I often find myself in an odd predicament at work. Although I am an adult authority figure, there are times when I feel I can relate better to the students than to the other adults. All of my co-workers are older than me and are married, whereas I am in my mid-20s and am still at home with my parents and adult younger sister, saving money for my own house. I don't know what it's like to be married or have my own family, but I do know my video games and colorful cartoon shows. Just say the word "Pokemon", and I can talk for a very. long. time.
Sometimes, I feel uncomfortable when students ask me about my interests because I fear that revealing too much to them would cause them to further view me as a peer rather than an adult. I was warned by my mentor teacher last school year that as soon as a teacher lets his/her guard down and allows the students to get too comfortable, that teacher has a much more difficult time with classroom management because the students will no longer see that teacher as an authority figure, but rather, a peer. Peers do a poor job managing a classroom. On the other hand, we, as teachers, are always encouraged to share who we are with our students. Students form a deeper emotional connection to the person they see as more than just the adult in front of the classroom trying to teach them comma rules. Deeper emotional connections with the adults at school can ultimately lead to greater student success.
What are some effective strategies that younger teachers use to further assert themselves as authority figures? Where do you draw the line when determining how much information to share about yourself with students, and why?
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