Building Relationships by asking questions

 The foundation of every successful classroom is the genuine relationship built between student and teacher. Both must accept the validity of the other's perspective and opinion before entering into meaningful conversation. It's an aspect of classroom management that may go undiscussed if issues like student behaviour or unmet needs are prioritized. 

Leslie Means supports creative questioning as a way to open a window for meaningful conversation with her kids. Her blog post offers 50 Questions To Ask Your Kids Instead Of Asking "How Was Your Day?" In the short interactions teachers have with students, we can dig into a student's daily experiences by asking about events, about emotions, and about interactions with others that occurred. Practicing this type of open-ended dialogue helps students express their needs and expand their understanding of the world around them. The tenets of Restorative Practice tell us that children and adolescents need to feel challenged, supported, cared for and in control of their lives. Breaking down the strictly authoritative instructor role, informal and sincere questions about the students lives can build positive relationships in a classroom.