Educators who love and care for their students by actively demonstrating empathy and genuine interest in their well-being and flourishing can have a lasting impact on their lives.
In the classroom setting, we deal with students who have suffered trauma, poverty, poor health, loss, immigration, social injustices, and other stressful circumstances. Thus, building an atmosphere of love, trust, and connection through healthy relationships helps them feel valued, safe, and encouraged to learn. When we model, teach, and serve students with compassion and love, we witness Christ’s character and love for humankind.
The apostle Peter indicates, “Above all else, love each other deeply” (1 Peter 4:8 NIV), which requires us to recognize the intrinsic value and preciousness of each student. It all starts with respect, which is the beginning of love, and which moves us to treat each other with justice and kindness.
According to Maria Sucupira, without respect for the person, there is no education, since all educational effort is centered on the student and presupposes the person’s value. Respect helps us realize that every student is of value because they are created in the image of God. Therefore, no matter their social background, circumstances, and disposition, we value each student’s interests, potentialities, and needs. When we recognize their value, we can bond with and love each student through our actions, behavior, and language, helping them learn to love as God loves.
Love in action is a powerful resource for building a community that emphasizes the importance of relationships, empathy, and kindness. Students’ perceptions of their safety, connectedness, and social relationships guide their behavior and sense of belonging in the classroom. Literature on bullying has pointed out that an atmosphere of intense power differentials and negative perceptions of classroom climate lead to prevalent bullying problems. On the other hand, according to Salmivalli & Peets, a nonhierarchical classroom where students feel safe, connected, and have a sense of belonging is a place where bullying does not flourish.
With busy schedules and structured curricula, students don’t have time to build real relationships, connect, and negotiate social conflicts and hierarchies. We are obsessively focused on cognitive development and have ignored children’s emotional and social needs. The rigid structure of school life destroys the possibility of community bonds that help students learn healthy behaviors and coping mechanisms for social and emotional well-being.
Human love is an agent of change that helps students thrive, resolve conflict constructively, and develop emotionally. However, disrespectful acts in the classroom in the form of name-calling, exclusion, and humiliation threaten students’ self-esteem and sense of belonging. Thus, teachers must ensure that students understand the importance of respecting their peers and encourage them to value the worth and dignity of others by considering their feelings and perspectives.
As a community of learning, we should neutralize potentially threatening situations and help every student feel included and loved in their school community through genuine relationships with peers, teachers, and administrators.
Author
Ellen Nogueira
PhD in Education (PhD in Curriculum and Instruction) from Andrews University (USA). Masters in Second Language Teaching from Andrews University. Post-doctorate in the area of Education and Ethics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).