Building Trust in School
A Brief But Spectacular take on building trust in school
Feb 19, 2024 6:25 PM EST
Valor Collegiate Academy in Nashville encourages students to share what's going on in their lives and to accept support, creating what they call a community of care. We hear from high school teacher Natalie Nikitas and Valor students as they give their Brief But Spectacular take on building trust at school.
William Brangham:
In Nashville, Valor Collegiate Academy encourages Students to share what's going on in their lives and to accept support from others.
Tonight, we hear from high school teacher Natalie Nikitas and some Valor Students as they give their Brief But Spectacular take on building trust.
Natalie Nikitas, Teacher, Valor Collegiate Academy:
When I go somewhere, the Uber driver is talking and inevitably they ask, well, what do you do? I'm a teacher. They go, oh, and they have their reaction.
And a lot of times, they are like, well, why? And I always ask them, well, like, who was your favorite teacher? Ninety-nine percent of the time, they're able to name the person. And 99 percent of the time, they smile. I don't — yes, I don't know another profession, other than like being a superhero, I guess, that could — that could do that.
I teach here at Valor College Prep. I teach 11th grade A.P. U.S. history. At Valor, the focus is much more so on social and emotional learning, teaching Students how to basically navigate the onslaught of emotions and feelings that they're experiencing every single day, along with traditional math, science, social studies.
Jester, Student:
Hi, my name is Jester (ph). I'm feeling kind of nervous today.
Valor is, in a word, unique.
(Laughter)
Jester:
So, circle, the best way that I have come to describe it is it's halfway between a group therapy session and an AA meeting.
Natalie Nikitas:
Circle basically is about like a 55-minute experience where Students will sit together and basically take the time to share how they're feeling.
Student:
I'm feeling kind of worried today.
Student:
I'm feeling a little bit stressed, but mostly excited.
Student:
I am feeling a mix of, like, stress but as well kind of at peace.
Jester:
It's a moment for us to decompress and focus in on how we're doing emotionally and give us just that sort of safe space to just be a collective individually.
Student:
What if I don't get the scholarship I had before and I have to actually pull away a lot more? Because I didn't study, and I regret it a lot, because I feel like I should have listened to my mom when she told me.
Student:
So I definitely understand that idea of procrastinating. But I definitely feel like that same pressure you're under, wanting to do really well, so you can apply to college and get your scholarships and everything.
I also resonate with the fact of how your mom was saying making sure you study, also kind of did the same thing with mine.
Natalie Nikitas:
On our best days, I truly have seen Students look out for another and make connections that I think every teacher and member of a school hopes to see.
Student:
Expressing my worries about school and the stress and the overwhelming feelings that I usually have throughout the day in class, I think talking about those are pretty relieving, because you realize that almost everybody's feeling the exact same way.
Student:
I shared last year, my 10th grade year, it was my first time in front of everybody. Like, I was nervous. You just like getting put on spotlight basically. You are just talking, and people are just listening to you and looking at you. So I was telling my teacher like, I didn't want to do it.
Natalie Nikitas:
You're supposed to have them share out their — basically, like, their feelings, their emotions, their struggles. A Student isn't going to do that unless they trust you. And to do that is a feat.
But if you do it well, the reward is astronomical.
Student:
I personally really disliked it as a middle schooler. I just really didn't think sitting down, talking about my feelings was important. But over time, throughout the years, I started to realize that it was actually something that was useful to me.
Student:
People know who I am today, like, at Valor. They know what I went through and everything.
Jester:
The hardest part is being vulnerable, but, in almost every circle I have ever been in, vulnerability is always met with support.
Student:
I'm able to trust more with people that I love, like my friends.
Natalie Nikitas:
Even if we don't understand what a teenager is going through, to say it is tough, your feelings are valid, for a Student to hear that from a teacher, like they actually care about them as a human being, what I have seen happen is, Students start to excel.
Student:
There's more to life than all this. You know, there's a lot of stress in school. And I realized I was trying to work myself to death. This is my life. No one can take that away from me.
So what I have been doing for the past couple of days is just appreciating the things in life that I have.
Jester:
So I want to appreciate Chris. It's like, how are you even the same person right now? You have just taken such an initiative and said, I'm not just going to sit here. I'm going to do everything I can to be the person I want to be.
Natalie Nikitas:
Once you see Students open up, it's like, this is everything that we have been trying to do. And for one brief magical moment, Students get to feel, like, whole.
I think, without recognizing Students as whole humans with desires and dreams and setbacks and obstacles, then we're truly missing out on half of a Student.
Jester:
You all ready?
(Laughter)
Natalie Nikitas:
My name is Natalie Nikitas, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on building trust in a circle.
William Brangham:
Tonight's Brief But Spectacular is part of a six-part collection on the future of education. The entire series can be seen on our Web site, PBS.org/"NewsHour."