Tip 11: Take the Time (Don’t Take Shortcuts

We live in a time of what futurist Ray Kurzweil calls accelerating change, with technological, cultural, social, and environmental change taking place exponentially faster than in any other period in the known history of our planet (Baer, 2015). We are feeling the effects of this firsthand in almost every aspect of our lives. And while technological advances allow us to connect, travel, share, and even produce vaccines at staggering rates, building meaningful, significant relationships with our students takes time. Sometimes, lots of time.

Of course, it doesn’t mean we have to devote large chunks of time, all at once, to building these relationships. We can build relationships with students in small, consistent, and meaningful ways. And we don’t need to be physically present in the room where it happens.

The remaining tips in this chapter will give you some ideas and strategies to authentically connect with your students so highly effective learning takes place. And the bottom line comes down to three words:

Take. The. Time.

Taking the time doesn’t mean taking all, or even a lot of, our time. It can happen in the small things we do, every day. It happens when we: • Take the time to pronounce a student’s name correctly. • Connect what we’re covering in class with our students’ interests. • Tell them a story that they’ll remember and relate to.

The remainder of this chapter is dedicated to how you can use these examples, and several others, to build authentic and powerful relationships with students—even if there’s a screen between you!