“Teachers focus on their most difficult student. For two minutes day, 10 days in a row, teachers have a personal conversation with the student about anything the student is interested in, as long as the conversation is G-rated.” (Smith and Lambert, 2008, p. 18).

I love this idea strategy of the Two-by-Ten. I sincerely believe that the best teaching happens when there is relational trust between students and teachers, but it takes time to build that relational trust, especially among adolescent students. I can remember how good it felt when a middle school teacher took the time to check in with me in the morning and remembered what I has said to them earlier in the week. It made me not only want to go to their class, but  it made me want to be engaged and learn. If the teacher cared about me, I thought I should care about what they had to teach me.

Another point in the article that Smith and Lambert make is “assuming the best enables us to treat both our students and ourselves with respect and dignity.” Many schools in this country have disproportionality in discipline, and often discipline students of color at much higher rates than their white counterparts. I think this has a lot to do with assumptions and teachers not realizing that they automatically give the benefit of the doubt to a white student who acts out, but may not offer the same curtesy to a student of color. If teachers are intentional about assuming the best of all their students, I think we could see the disproportionality lessen. This coupled with the Two-by-Ten strategy in a classroom, I think, could make a really welcoming and safe place for students to learn.