Building Respect and Rapport Through Self-Disclosure

Self-disclosure entails the teacher sharing personal experiences—parts of yourself, your special interests, and what matters to you- during classroom interactions. When used appropriately, self-disclosure provides the opportunity to reveal relevant feelings and opinions and to share stories about childhood, schooling, family, friends, teaching, and extracurricular activities that aid in the development of relationships and learning in the classroom.

Self-disclosure is an important way to let your students know who you are. Whether you use self-disclosure to explain a concept or to demonstrate caring and build trust, this strategy helps individual students find similarities and new levels on which you can connect. The strategy of disclosure contributes to the formation of a warm and emotional link as students discover common ground and a safe place for respectful reflection.

The relationships you build with students will have a great influence on instruction and learning in your classroom. Creating a culture of warm classroom interactions and respect for the many and varied cultures will build rapport and contribute to instructional and behavioral classroom goals for individual students and the group.

As we work toward enhancing learning by building connections and relationships in the classroom, the following strategies will promote an environment of mutual respect and rapport:

Make a scrapbook about yourself. Barb Hines, a third-grade teacher, made a scrapbook of herself (“Meet the Real Barb Hines”) and shared it with her students. She did it because she wanted to appear more human to her students. According to Barb, “I wanted my students to see that I’m just like they are and that I have feelings probably much like theirs.” The scrapbook has two sections: a brief autobiography including childhood pictures and a current section of personal facts, favorite things, what causes her feelings of anger, sadness, and happiness, and things she has learned.
Use a photo cube filled with photos showing scenes from your personal life. Change photos frequently and answer questions from interested students.
Be the first “Person of the Week.” Use a bulletin board that features pictures, drawings, magazine clippings, and souvenirs of highlights of your life. Share about your family, childhood, hobbies, trips, hopes, likes, dislikes, and talents. Your sharing serves as a model for each “Person of the Week” (a student) who follows.
Allow an interview forum like a press conference. Allow students to ask you what they want to know. You do not have to answer anything you believe is too personal. Questions may start out basic: How old are you? As trust is built, they may increase in depth: Do you like giving grades? Do you tell other people about us?
Bring things that interest you into the classroom. Your special interest offers a personal link between you and your students. It matters less what you share. It matters more that you share it. This tells students that you care enough about them to share your personal enjoyments with them. It could be a guitar, baseball cards, books, political buttons, etc.
Jenny Adair loves frogs. She brought some of her stuffed frogs to class and before long her students began giving her stuffed frogs of all kinds. After many years of teaching, she now displays her collection of hundreds of frogs at the beginning of the school year. Students enter a special frog sanctuary each time they enter her room. This creates an instant bond as students walk around the room pointing to their favorite frog.
A high school English teacher loves kayaking and has a kayak hanging on the ceiling of his classroom. This creates the opportunity to share many self-disclosure stories of kayaking experiences. Students can explore vicariously through those stories.
One teacher who cared deeply about animals held an Endangered Species Day. Another shared summer travel experiences. Still another brought her insect collection to school. A teacher who loved running used his lunch period to jog around the school property. He invited interested students to join him.
Create a repertoire of personal stories that connect with various content areas you teach throughout the school year. Hone the stories each time you tell them so they become emotionally powerful memory hooks for the information you are presenting.
Look for opportunities to insert personal experiences that show your human side to your students.

Additionally, find out what students value by respecting them and their lives outside of school. Let them participate in the same self-disclosure strategies and model respect for the wide variety of student backgrounds