Tip 16: Help Students Get to Know Your Stuff

Along with sharing your stories and surroundings, sharing things that are important to you can help build relationships between teachers and students, and between the students’ themselves.

If you’re a crafter or a maker, you can share things you created. If you’re a traveler, you can share things you’ve bought or found from different places. If you’re a collector, share your collections. If you’re a book lover or art lover, share your bookshelves or your art pieces.

When we share things that are important to us, we share parts of ourselves that are unique and fun and help set us apart. And when our “stuff” makes regular appearances during our online classes, it helps to build a culture and climate that is positive and memorable!

Teacher Feature

Trevor Todd, a fifth-grade teacher in Wilmington, North Carolina, shares his love for bow ties with his students. Each day he wears a different bow tie (over the years, he’s amassed hundreds of them) during his online class, each with its own unique story about how he obtained it (some were made for him, some were sent to him, and others he purchased on his own). At the end of the year, he sends each of his students their own bow tie, and of course, anytime students see a bow tie, they think about Mr. Todd! (T. Todd, personal communication, October 1, 2020)