Connectedness: Bridging the Gap Between Values and Practice in Developing a Safe and Supportive School Community

Abstract

For the sake of this discussion, it is suggested that there exists a paradox within the teaching profession: one found in most schools. On one hand educators know and believe that students need role models and that almost every aspect of teaching, even (or especially) including discipline—is all about relationships. Yet on the other hand we know that our school pays us to teach—we’re not there to be a friend. The teacher’s job is to teach and the student’s job is to learn. Teachers acknowledge a duty of pastoral care and that every student should have a trusted teacher to speak to in time of need. However, they don’t have time to chat with students and if something is wrong, the preferred option is to send them to the chaplain or the counsellor. On one hand teaching is relational, pastoral—some may even see teaching as a ministry. Yet on the other hand, school is about classroom management, teaching and learning, timetables and assessment. Both concepts are correct. Both are a descriptors of a good teacher, yet one tends to be seen as an ideal and the other as functional reality.