Imagine finding your students struggling on a test. From your perspective, they’re making stupid mistakes, and you must address this so they no longer make them, so you decide to make snide comments and “throw shade” at them in the hope that embarrassing them will make them learn the hard way.

While this may seem like an effective strategy, those comments will never be helpful in the eyes of the student. A teacher must communicate effectively and build friendly relationships with students so that their performance and understanding of the course material improves. Good teachers easily achieve this, but what separates them from great teachers, who never waiver, is the fact that good teachers too often blur the line between seeing students as peers and friends.

Interaction between friends is more casual than between teachers and students. My friends can make fun of me for picking the incorrect or stupid answer, but my teacher should not. Through the eyes of a disgruntled, struggling student, a teacher telling me they “don’t understand” why I would do a problem or answer a question differently than they would without actually explaining the better or right way to do it does not help me at all.

Having a good relationship with a teacher is a rewarding experience and an amazing feeling, but teachers must be sure to remain professional in the classroom. Hold students accountable for not studying or trying hard enough to understand, but be a teacher. This means helping students improve their understanding and application of the material rather than highlighting their faults, holding their mistakes against them, or chastising them in front of their peers.