Building a better relationship with children in the classroom

The book is an extremely useful and original practical guide for building relationships of trust and mutual respect between teachers and students, in order to facilitate the learning process. Psychologist Mrs. Miller has written it with sensitivity, deep knowledge of her field, and great affection.

The book emphasizes the quality of knowledge.

It highlights the value of two key pillars of modern education:

– First, education must provide knowledge. This knowledge should be future-oriented, focused on new technologies, and, most importantly, delivered through a holistic approach that provides a sense of purpose, unity, and relevance at all levels of education.

– Education must provide culture and values. It should not focus solely on providing information, no matter how important it may be, but also develop “skills for accessing knowledge and applying the information they (the children) will receive from various sources” (p. 11). Children should be guided to adopt values that are useful both to society as a whole and to their own professional development, such as honesty, self-discipline, and responsibility.

Particular emphasis is placed on emotional intelligence, as skills such as stress management and controlling the expression of emotions are essential both in the workplace and in social and personal life. The guiding principle for the teacher should be that “Schools shape good people, not just good students” (p. 35).

The classroom of the new millennium will be characterized by good communication between teachers and students and a spirit of collaboration, so that learning comes more easily and not as a result of a coercive process. This can be achieved, for example, through better arrangement of the desks in the classroom (p. 27). While emphasis is placed on teamwork, the “role of personality and self-improvement” is also highlighted.

Teachers should continuously seek quality in their work and make use of the ever-increasing opportunities for lifelong learning, so that they stay informed about developments in their field as well as new educational methods that evolve over time. This spirit should be passed on to the children to help them love learning, adopt it as a way of life, and not view it as an externally imposed obligation.

The relationship between the teacher and the student is placed under the microscope. Initially, the general guidelines that the teacher should follow are analyzed. Among these, the need for the teacher to understand that the child must first meet certain basic needs in order to be able to focus on school stands out. Thus, if the child has not satisfied their basic needs (food, shelter, sleep), and if they do not feel secure, cared for, loved, and appreciated, they will likely come to school unprepared for the learning process (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, pp. 52-53). However, beyond the general framework of guidelines, advice is also provided for addressing specific issues within the classroom (such as the shy child, the child who copies, the child with disabilities, pp. 57-66).

Emphasis is also placed on interdisciplinarity, which can develop the multiple forms of intelligence. Thus, while most educational systems aim to develop Linguistic and Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, it is emphasized that 21^st-century education should encourage children to explore every area of intelligence, including Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalistic intelligence (pp. 110-111). The example of teaching for multiple intelligences presented on page 113 is quite interesting. This approach of combined, interdisciplinary teaching reflects the new trend in science and can help children realize that the knowledge they acquire is a tool to understand the world around them, while simultaneously teaching them how interesting general knowledge can be.

Without a doubt, this book is a valuable guide for any teacher who wishes to improve the quality and effectiveness of their work within the classroom.