Have Faith in Students

by Dr. Jane Nelsen and Dr. Kelly Gfroerer, from their book Positive Discipline Tools for Teachers.

What does it mean to have faith in students? It doesn’t mean abandoning students to figure out everything for themselves. It means having more faith in how much they can handle, even if it means they have to struggle. Having faith means knowing that they can benefit from some struggle. Struggle builds resilience and a sense of capability as students learn how much they can do. And, most important, having faith in your students means empowering them to use their deep wisdom and caring to deal with some challenges that might seem impossible to adults.

You can offer support that invites them to think by validating feelings. You can also offer some guidance through curiosity questions (see the Curiosity Questions: Motivational  and Curiosity Questions: Conversational  tools). You show faith by not rescuing, fixing, or controlling, and instead get students involved in helping and problem-solving.

Patience is probably the most difficult part of showing faith in your students. It almost always seems more expedient to solve problems for students. This is particularly true if you believe teaching means students should be passive receptors of your knowledge, or if you attempt to settle conflicts through punishments or rewards.