How To Leverage Classroom Relationships With LaQuisha Hall

LaQuisha Hall has been proudly teaching in Baltimore city schools for 20 years. She’s taught literacy for 17 years, and is now coaching educators through a program called Opportunity Culture, where she maintains her connection to the students and culture.

In Baltimore, she found the opportunity to both teach and obtain her master’s degree. Now, two decades later, she’s continuing to share and build upon her expertise.

One of her dearly loved scholars refers to her teaching style as ‘fun-bossy.’ LaQuisha chuckles in agreement, and affirms the requirements and rules she puts in place ensures there’s structure and successful outcomes in the class – whilst simultaneously having fun.

LaQuisha has students that address her in delightfully casual terms like ‘sister’ and ‘queen’, and other students that look forward to the organization her class gives their educational progress. Because LaQuisha is versatile in the way she engages students, she knows how to strike the balance between having a great relationship with her classes and getting things done.

So, how can you leverage the relationship with your students for a more positive and productive environment?

The Foundation Of Collaboration
Without relationships, LaQuisha says, you simply can’t get people to work with you in the way you’d hope for. If you expect to dive straight in on a project with a stranger, things won’t play out as smoothly as they otherwise could. Collaborating with people you have a positive history with is always going to be preferred for both parties. It’s a fundamental concept that translates to education precisely.

LaQuisha brought this outlook into her Baltimore classes, where her students first shouldered limiting beliefs that were cast upon them by past teachers. It was LaQuisha’s responsibility to amend that narrative and start expanding their horizons. But it wasn’t just their capabilities she had to reinstate – it was also their understanding of what a student/teacher could look like.

In order to pave a new way for their education, LaQuisha created an environment that enabled students to be open about their personal life, which sometimes harbored unsettling truths. By leveraging relationships on a personal level, she was able to unlock doors for her students in the educational space.

How Does An Honest Space Translate to Academic Accomplishments?
In one of the first schools LaQuisha taught at, she had a student who was particularly standoffish and didn’t view her as a figurehead to learn from. Dealing with a combative student who sees you more as a peer whose lines can be crossed isn’t uncommon for new teachers.

LaQuisha's approach was unusual, but effective. She saw the problem as an opportunity to get creative, and tackled the issue by writing the student a letter. Her presentation went above and beyond with a beautiful card and envelope. The student quietly digested its contents, which outlined LaQuisha’s belief in her potential and how she’d love to help.

The student left in silence, but returned the following day with a letter of her own. It was lengthy, apologetic and revealing. LaQuisha learned of the troubles her student was facing, but also that she had her trust and commitment to a fresh start. LaQuisha still has the letter to this day, and maintains contact with the student on social media.

The conduit LaQuisha had created to bond with her troubled student led to overwhelming results. The students answered more questions, grew an inclination to lead and became an active all star in the class. 

But it took LaQuisha to make the first step and offer up her vulnerability as a platform the two could meet on. By extending that olive branch, what could have been tactical warfare turned into a brighter future for the young girl.

Beyond the test scores and data points, you’ll often find individuals who want to give their best, but are simply facing barriers that they don’t possess maturity and experience to overcome themselves. These blockades, if left unaddressed, can have an insidious effect on their educational and professional careers.

The Most Common Myth In Student/Teacher Relationships
LaQuisha is quick to smash down a common misconception about student and teacher relationships on the tip of her tongue – not all students need the intervention teachers think they do.

Most kids are quite open to a functional relationship without special attention. Teachers in urban areas often adopt the superhero role where it isn’t needed. Your average students will have the natural backing of parents and community already in place, and look to their teachers to simply teach.

It’s worth checking in on your judgment to distinguish between what needs the magic touch and what’s perfectly fine as it is. Be who you are and create a space where your student can do the same.

Side note, she adds: just because your kids listen to hip-hop, it doesn’t mean they want to hear it from you.

The Top 3 Best Practices For Leveraging Student And Teacher Relationships

1. Authenticity
If you drive home the philosophy of being yourself – which you should – then be sure to embody that model in class. Being authentic is the root of reflecting expectations to your students. If your integrity is visibly in check, it becomes contagious, so long as it stems from a place of sincerity and virtue.

2. Vulnerability
Whilst being true to yourself is key, so is not taking your role too seriously. Educators are easy prey for power trips. Once you relinquish that clinging to control, that energy is freed up to focus on your class. What does that look like? It’s apologizing when you’re wrong and being emotionally available when the situation demands it. Keep things human and the connection will take care of itself.

3. Creativity 
Ditch the cookie-cutter lesson plans and get creative. Don’t depend on dull print-outs, but instead stir up the lesson with an out-the-box approach. If you plod through each class with lazy routines, where do you think students are going to find the enthusiasm to engage? Creative solutions will pull them out of la la land and imbue your classroom with the potential to flourish.

Sometimes students don’t behave because they’re bad, but because they’re bored. Experimenting with original ways to switch things up is the ultimate antidote.

Final Thoughts

LaQuisha rounds things off with a final nugget of wisdom: If there’s a teacher around you who is ‘killing it’, go and talk to them. A teachers' staff room is no place for envy. In the world of education, teachers can do as well to learn from each other as the students learn from them. 

Be a wisdom sponge and pay attention to what’s working in other classes, so you can inject some of that magic into yours. Rather than replicate, take inspiration. If you put the right spin on things, the opportunity to refine is near-endless.

Featured image by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels