Sundays with Students

On Sundays, as I near the end of my weekly grading  cycle, I try to take the time to say encouraging things.  Why make such a point?  well its the

red pen perception.

RPP happens when all students ever see of you for a sustained period of time is red ink.  Whether a digital pen and actually red digital ink is employed may vary, but we are all at risk of falling into RPP from time to time.  Because one of our primary contact points with students is grading and evaluating.  Unlike face-2-face teachers who also see the kid in the hallway, lunchroom, bus duty; Or who form human connections through sports, coaching, sponsoring a club or even monitoring a detention, we online folks have to create human moments.  They are not organic.

So to combat RPP head on, I take Sunday to check in on kids through phone, email or IM and just say Hi.  Its a good day to google some of the things they wrote about in their initial getting to know you moments.  Personally I always ask for their favorite music.  Then I Pandora it.  I don't always like their music, but at least I can recognize it.

I also try not to belabor the point.  I don't create a social contact with every kid every Sunday, but I contact every kid at some point each month. 

Some of my best relationships with adults during my formative years were with my teachers, probably a large part of why I became one.  So, in combating RPP I feel like I am enriching the experience for all of us.