How Well Do You Know Your Students?

Do your homework. Study for the test. Don’t be late for class. Does this sound familiar? For many students, this seems to be something that they often hear from teachers and peer counselors. Some students don’t need any other kind of direction to succeed in school. However, there are many students that need and possibly even crave more direction and attention to thrive.

In the essay, Transformative College Literacy of Literate Black Women Peer Counselors, by Robin Wisniewski, she discusses the literary transformations of two black peer counselors. In the beginning of their journey as peer counselors, Lauryn and Vania were under the impression that their job was to master every subject so that they could help their students. In the end, they came to realize that they didn’t need to know everything about every subject to help their students succeed. They learned that understanding their students on a deeper level is sometimes the extra step it takes to really help them improve.

As I read about the transformations of Lauryn and Vania, I began to think about today’s school system and the teachers in it. A few questions instantly popped into my head? Are teachers really interested in knowing their students on a deeper level? How many teachers have I encountered during my years of schooling that have put forth extra work to know what kind of student I am? Would an increase in a teacher’s knowledge of their students increase the success rate in schools? As a student, I get motivation from knowing that my teacher really wants to know who I am so they can cater to my needs as a unique student. I don’t get any inspiration from a teacher that just wants to teach material to me and then give me grades. If more teachers realized what Lauryn and Vania realized, who knows what would happen to the success rate in schools around the globe.