I find it interesting that teenagers are very perceptive on how parents’ involvement influences how they share their information about their friendships. According to the article by Blair and Fletcher, if there is history of overreaction and heated arguments between parents and their children, they are less likely to disclose information about their friends and what’s going on in their lives, be it positive or negative. However, also the less involved and interested parents are in their child’s life also affects, over time, the likelihood of sharing information. I may infer that this type of behavior could be also projected by the student in the classroom and it influences if they would like to share important information either positive and negative with their teachers or other school staff. As a result, as teachers, it is important to gradually create an environment where students feel comfortable to engage in the classroom and eventually trust their teachers to share information about their lives and have a good rapport with them.
I’ve never really thought too much about this before, but it’s certainly true. I don’t bother telling people about my social life if they show that they really don’t care, but I’m much more open and reflective about it when talking to someone who does care, or at least pretends to. I agree with what you said at the end here, about how important it is to make kids feel comfortable enough to open up about their social lives. When I’ve worked with kids in the past, there have been some who have opened up about a social issue they’ve had, or oftentimes an issue with a particular other kid. On the contrary, there are kids who are much more closed off and less likely to discuss any issue. What comes to mind for me is if there’s bullying or harassment going on, it’s important that we make kids and students feel open enough to share. Teachers can often pick up on these social vibes, but it’s easier for us to help the situations if the students feel comfortable enough to let us know of any issues.
Hi Cat and Claudia,
I appreciate your point about educators’ role to “evoke” kids to open their social life. I don’t know if you guys tried to sit with the kids during lunch or snack time. They can be totally different people. I tried that in my placement and realized it is a good way to build mutual trust and respect with my students.