The impact of teachers who care on quality of life

Knowing that somebody wants the best for you can impact on your desire to succeed, show resilience, engagement and on your achievement. I am sure many of you remember the teacher that went the extra mile to show you that they saw you as an individual and they valued you. These small actions help learners to feel appreciated, it raises self-confidence and pushes students to want to do their best. Sometimes we just need people to see something in us and care about us, even and especially when we do not see it in  ourselves.

Caring teachers strongly impact the quality of their students’ lives. They motivate, encourage and involve students in their own learning process, therefore the students feel their teacher has invested in them and hopefully this leads to them to invest fully in their own education. Supportive relationships between teachers and students allow them to thrive, both in and out of school. To take this further, the idea of a mindful teacher who creates a caring, compassionate and empathetic classroom environment is one that promotes student development. ’Mindful teaching supports the contention that students who experience their teachers as more mindful, for instance by being calm, clear and kind in their interactions with students (Hulburt et al. 2020) have more positive developmental outcomes’ (Colaianne et al 2020). This certainly would have positive impacts on children’s quality of life, as it gives consistency, reduces anxiety and we know that increased wellbeing leads to more successful outcomes.

Teachers who care, make positive impacts on their students lives at school and in their students future. There are many ways that teachers show they care at TBS Warsaw. Some examples include listening to students, allowing them voice and choice, being openminded, understanding of different cultural heritages and educational backgrounds, helping them, being respectful and treating all students equally,  showing empathy, encouraging all students and most of all being kind.  Small things that can happen in the classroom to show that you are invested in your students can be very impactful, including just a smile.

To summarise, the impact of a caring teacher on the  success of their students should not be underestimated. It is an important part of our quality of life as children spend a huge amount of time at school, if someone believes in you from a young age your likelihood of academic success increases manifoldly and this will hopefully then lead on to many achievements throughout your life.

Laura McElhill

Year 3 LADYBIRDS CLASS TEACHER

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion