How to Grow Trust in Students

One of the topics that teachers ponder over is how to grow trust in students, and also how to model (and thereby teach) trustworthiness in students.

Earlier this week I was listening to a webinar and the presenter gave this awesome formula for the two factors that it takes to build trust, so I want to share it with you here.

TRUST = AUTHENTICITY + INTEGRITY

Now, let’s break them apart to discuss each and therefore understand the combination of them.

Authenticity

There are few definitions for AUTHENTIC, but the one that fits this use is: “relating to or denoting an emotionally appropriate, significant, purposive, and responsible mode of human life.”

I like to think of it as being genuine, not fake… We’ve sure being hearing the term “fake” a lot lately. People need to believe and feel that you are genuine. And they get these feelings by observing you in action.

Do you display genuineness in your everyday actions? Are you being truthful? Are you doing what you say and saying what you do? People are very observant and will be able to tell rather quickly whether you are modeling the expectations you are asking from your students.

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As you know, being truthful, to some students, may seem like a new concept since, in this age of Social Media there are mostly examples of people being “less than genuine.” This might lead to some interesting conversations if you teach middle or high school. What are some signs in the social media content that signify that it is not authentic?

Speaking of being authentic, I wrote a earlier article describing why I became a teacher, and asking about your reasons. You can read it here:

Why Did You Become a Teacher? What’s Your WHY?

As a teacher, the best thing you can do is model this daily. When you say you are going to do something, do it! When you threaten a punishment for the next time a behavior happens, follow through with that punishment when the student does what you said not to do. This is VERY IMPORTANT!

All your students are watching what you do and gauging if you are going to be honest or not; and if you are going to be fair or not. It is CRUCIAL THAT YOU ARE AND DO!

INTEGRITY

INTEGRITY is defined as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.”

There are 10 identified traits that signify true integrity. They are:

taking responsibility for your actions
putting others’ needs above your own
offering to help others in need
giving others the benefit of the doubt
choosing honesty in all things
showing respect to everyone
manifesting humility
being able to admit you are wrong
showing regular reliability
conveying true kindness

Teachers, and all educators should strive to be a person of integrity. As you are moving through your day, doing the day-to-day teaching and preparing tasks, think about how to provide a moral compass for your students.

Here is an article I wrote about being a “compass” for your students. Here is the link:

Be a “Compass” for Your Students

Don’t forget that students look to the adults in their lives to guide them. They are constantly watching and evaluating our actions in relation to the actions of others adults in their world. And THEY DO spend a lot of time with us during the academic school year.

Along with teaching academics, we want to help students learn to be trustworthy people. We want to be able to trust our students to tell the truth, to do what is right, to follow the rules, to treat other students nicely, to be kind to others, to complete their school work proudly, and on and on.

So, how do we teach students to be”TRUSTWORTHY”?

First and foremost, we need to model the trait for them (as I wrote about above). Next, we need to teach some of the items listed in the list of 10 above. Some districts have adopted curriculums for teaching behavior and citizenship, and often these have lessons to use.

But I find it works well to address these as they tie in to your other lessons and units. Or when they come up in the day-to-day situations. Sometimes when we need to intervene in a dispute or problem on the playground or during lunch, this is the perfect time to address integrity. I used to ask students how they would feel if it happened to them…”to put themselves in the other students’ shoes” so to speak.

Take advantage of “teachable” moments

When I was an administrator dealing with a problem between students I would always begin the conversation by asking, “What did you do?” You would be amazed how quickly the students (practically all of them) segway into what the other student did to them…playing the victim.

But knowing that there are always two sides to every dispute or situation, I would make them come back to “what they did.” Many times this took more than three promptings. They were not used to the adult in charge making them be accountable for their own behaviors.

This is a very important concept because children will not become trustworthy until they can own up to their own actions and realize when they are equally in the wrong in a situation.

Teachers need to use situations as teachable moments. When something arises, take the few minutes out of your day to discuss the situation with the entire class and provide insight into the concept of “INTEGRITY.”

Another option is to actually make this instruction part of your curriculum. Here is a link to a few character trait activities for trustworthiness.

Westwood-Bales; Character Counts! Trustworthiness Activities

But I actually prefer to intertwine this instruction of values and morals into other units of study. For example if your class is reading about Jackie Robinson you can discuss how he must have felt when he walked out onto the field of the major leagues for the first time.

I find that students are eager to discuss values and find out what you believe. Just be sure to not interject your religious views if you teach in the US public school system. I hope this article has given you some ideas on how to grow trust in your students.

Until Next Time,