A positive teacher-student relationship plays a pivotal role in shaping a nurturing learning environment. When students experience a sense of trust and comfort with their teacher, they are more likely to openly enquire about uncertainties. This positive relationship encourages students to actively participate in the learning process.
In contrast, a fear of the teacher can lead to students withdrawing into silence. This underscores the profound impact of the teacher-student relationship on student well-being and the overall learning atmosphere.
Can you imagine which scenario is more conducive to learning? As a parent, in which classroom would you expect your child to flourish?
‘Teachers are kind, their passion infectious’
At GlIS, we consistently strive to improve the way students interact with their teachers and vice-versa. In this way, we open the floodgates for curiosity and exploration. Values are important at GIIS. Kindness and respect are expected to flow both ways: from student to teacher and from teacher to student.
“One feels secure and comfortable at GIIS. The teachers are kind and incredibly motivated to ensure that the students enjoy their lessons. Their infectious passion for their respective subjects shines through during the classes and it makes learning much easier and enjoyable,” said Ananth Madhusudhanan, GIIS 2023 IBDP graduate, pursuing Physics from Imperial College London.
Students receive the support and nurture needed to achieve academic goals, and the atmosphere in the classroom is relaxed and friendly. As a result, student engagement across grades and curricula is high. GIIS students learn that their opinions and ideas are worth voicing and that’s what they say matters. This is an essential building block for self-esteem, and it’s something every student has the right to enjoy.
How does GIIS create a healthy teacher-student bond?
The perfect classroom is one where everyone feels safe, curious and engaged. The teacher enjoys teaching, and the students enjoy learning. Sadly, few things are perfect in today’s world, and school is no exception. That’s why GIIS is continually working to improve the way our teachers interact with their students in several ways:
We model kindness
Our staff are experts at imparting the values of kindness and tolerance. This is practised in every classroom, from early learning through secondary school. Our teachers show kindness to the students in their classrooms, realising that all children are created differently, and each learns at his own pace.
GIIS is culturally diverse, and its student body speaks many languages. However, kindness and tolerance are universal. They make students feel included and valuable across all ethnicities, and that’s an important goal.
“GIIS was a formative time in my life from which I have grown personally and academically. The experience was made most valuable to me by the people around me. Those who gave me support, and those who gave me the opportunity to develop and display my skills on different platforms,” said Akshaya Singh, GIIS IBDP 2023 graduate.
“I am especially grateful for the mentorship provided by my teachers. This experience has gifted me lifelong friendships and the chance to discover my personal goals. It has allowed me to understand myself as a person and has taught me lessons that I will continue to carry forward in the future,” elaborates Akshaya, who’s pursuing Economics from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.
We practise constructive feedback
Feedback is an important learning tool. However, the way it’s offered can make or break the student-teacher relationship. At GIIS, our teacher feedback is constructive and positive, never demeaning. It’s given with the student’s best interests at heart and always with the goal of helping them achieve greater things. And we’re open and receptive to student feedback as well.
Athulitha Bhuvaneshwaram, IBDP 2023 GIIS graduate, said: “Both my Business and French teachers were beyond encouraging towards me and that helped me finally get a 7 in both these subjects. Nidhi ma’am guided me throughout for my IA, which helped me perfect the final submission. Mayuri ma’am, on the other hand, constantly gave me feedback on my mock French IOs and I doubt I would have secured a 7 without adhering to the detailed feedback she gave.”
“My favourite subjects were Economics and Maths AA. Deepa ma’am and Liang Sir guided me throughout and were truly supportive in my journey. They would always encourage me to get my doubts solved and kept motivating me to do my best. In the case of Maths, I was initially worried that it would be too difficult. However, my teacher always motivated us to practise more and ensured that apart from questions, our theory and concepts were also clear,” added Athulitha, who is pursuing Economics and Public Policy Double Major from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.
We foster student well-being
The most successful students are ones who believe in themselves. We help students reach this pinnacle by showing we believe in them, too. Our teachers and counsellors are concerned about student welfare and collaborate to ensure no student is ever left to feel as though they’re all alone with no one to talk to.
We RISE
RISE is an acronym for Respect, Integrity, Skills and Empathy. RISE as leaders of tomorrow is a recurring theme at GIIS, and it applies to everyone in the school, from students to faculty to administration. When we model these values ourselves, we show students how to do the same.
Also read: How to foster student wellbeing? Here’s what we do at GIIS
Learning environment at GIIS
Everything we do at GIIS is to create a warm and welcoming environment where students feel free to be themselves and become curators of their education. We offer multiple curricula, from our Global Montessori Plus programme, which begins at age 2.5, through our IB Primary Years Programme, CBSE programme, our Cambridge Lower Secondary Programme, our Cambridge IGCSE, and our IB Diploma Programme that concludes secondary school – fostering a diverse set of academic skills.
Additionally, our 21st-century SMART Campus is designed to give students a superior learning environment that prepares them to succeed in today’s global community.
At GIIS, we’re educating a generation of fair, kind and tolerant leaders, and we invite you and your child to join us. If you’d like to view our state-of-the-art campus, you can schedule a tour today.
Shubhdarshani Mitra
Shubhdarshani has over 10 years of experience in content creation, curation and editing. She has worked for Indian newspapers, school magazines and international news websites where she worked closely with the leadership on the execution and communication of the content strategy. Aside from work, she’s a passionate B&W photographer and storyteller.
