There was a video clip that caught on attention on social media recently. It was something that I previously watched, however I decided to view it just for a few seconds of mindless entertainment. The clip featured what appeared to be an older sister standing facing forward with her arms outstretched with a younger sister standing directly in front of her, facing forwards as well, with her arms crossed against her chest. She was also either blindfolded or asked to close her eyes. The older sister tells the younger sister to fall, and to her dismay, the younger sister leans forward and drops face first directly onto the floor. The older sister immediately acknowledges the flaw in her commands, but it was too late for her to prevent the mishap. She intended to tell her younger sister to fall backwards, so she could build catch her! This basic activity is known as a “trust fall” and is typically used as a group-building exercise that is intended to increase reliance on its members. There are a few versions of it, however the dependence increases as the volunteer may be asked to stand on an elevated platform which raises the potential for injury. Trust is defined as a “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” Trust is a character trait that often takes time to be established, but once lost, it is an extremely difficult and slow process to acquire again.
As a student, I was far from perfect, but I recall always having excellent rapport with my teachers. Because I established a high level of trust with my teachers, I would often receive opportunities that others did not. As I got older, even in College, I would often be mistaken for what some refer to as a “teacher’s pet!” In my personal thoughts, my rationale was that if it was true my grades would be higher than where they were. A phrase I really my mother saying was “first you lie, you cheat, and then you steal.” It may seem harsh, but dishonest people that I knew really seemed to limit what they were able to accomplish. Whenever someone did something that resulted in consequences or shared information that was incorrect, I realized that it spread like wildfire. Not attempting to sound cliché, but when someone did the right thing or something positive, that was something that did not necessarily make headline news. While in completing my undergraduate degree, I worked for a Satellite TV provider doing Technical & Customer Support. While taking the initial job training, I recall a Supervisor emphasizing how important satisfying a customer was to the company. He stated that we were allocated $200 per customer call to meet the needs of each individual call. The rationale was that a satisfied customer may share their satisfaction with one or two other individuals, but a dissatisfied customer would share their displeasure with seven to eight other people on average. It was evident that the company saw the value in providing quality service. They determined that providing a dependable trustworthy service would be beneficial to the company in the long-term.
Imagine the level of success that could be attained when a Teacher places genuine trust in their students. That feeling may be foreign to some students, so they may not know how to react initially, and placing trust on students, especially those that express behavior concerns, has been a successful strategy that has allowed me to penetrate boundaries and layers of tough exterior that has prevented me from reaching desired results. Trust can be reciprocated once it is placed on others. Over the years I have been fortunate to be that “one teacher” that students would feel comfortable opening-up to me and sharing what the root issue was that they were facing. At times, it honestly felt like both a gift and a curse, but it was all a means to reaching that student that I could teach that student. It is funny how little “life lessons” that I learned as a young child has emerged as an adult and played such a major role in shaping me as an adult and Educator. When your students enter you school or classroom, do they feel confident enough to climb up on a platform, cross their arms, close their eyes, and drop back? If they do, then you are fortunate enough to have achieved an appropriate level of trust. It is the balance of trust that you have in your students, and that they have in you which results with you being what we identify as a Next Level Educator.
The Jeremy Anderson Group