Trust

YOUTUBE VIDEO:

"The ethical standard of trust embodies fairness, openness, and honesty." (OCT Standards of Practice, Ontario Ministry)
Trust is crucial for a teachers success. In order to truly understand what trust means, James Davis took the time to study the elements of trust. He looked at historical figures and elements in his own life in order to determine what defines trust, and how we can build trust in our relationships.

Trust is a willingness to be vulnerable. If I say I trust you, it means that I am willing to take the risk of being vulnerable with you. This is exactly what teachers should want with their students. We as teachers want our students to feel like they can vulnerable with us. We want them to feel safe with us and to know that when they are not feeling strong that we can support them and bring them back up.

The enthusiastic James Davis  notes that there are 3 factors that drive trust:
1) Ability: can person X do what they say they can do? If I as a teacher say that I can guide me through the learning process, can I?

2) Benevolence: Does person X care about me? Do I as a teacher care for my students well-being?

3) Integrity: Does person X have a strong set of values? Do I as a teacher have strong values that my students agree with?

As James Davis "if you want to improve your relationship and improve peoples perception of your trustworthiness, build their perception of your ability, benevolence, and integrity."

The level of reflection that I will engage in to utilize whether or not I am using trust in the classroom is pedagogical reflection. I would take time to improve my teaching practices and ask myself whether or not I hold ability, benevolence, and integrity in my everyday teaching. If I was not, I would accept responsibility for my professional practice and ask myself what needs to be changed in order to increase trust.

Below is the entire YouTube Video!