How Teachers Need To Respond

Five Elements to Teacher Responses
1. Invitation
2. Opportunity
3. Investment
4. Persistence
5. Reflection

1. Invitation
The teacher needs to invite their students into their classroom and make them feel welcome. It is important for teachers to get to know their students and what their interests are, not only for academic purposes, but for the students' self-esteem and self-worth. Students need affirmation and teachers need to provide it for them. In the first week, I made it a point to learn the name of each student. I began to learn different things about each child and it really helped me to develop relationships with them.
2. Opportunity
Teachers provide their students with opportunities to grow. Once you know your students, you can begin to provide them opportunities to grow based on where they are and what is meaningful to them by creating goals. Students need to feel important and be open to new possibilities. Teachers can show these things to students. I think that school is a wonderful place for students to try new things and experiences that they possibly would not receive at home.
3. Investment
Teachers invest time, energy, and well... everything for their students and they love it! Teachers put forth effort to make school successful for each student and ensure growth. Teachers and students work side by side to reach students' goals. Teachers who are invested will create personally engaging tasks for their students. I was only in the classroom half days, and I was very invested in the students and desired to find tasks that I knew the students would enjoy.
4. Persistence
Classrooms do not go as planned. It takes persistence to make things work. Teachers are constantly adapting to the needs of the classroom. Teachers also need to instill in their students that they are never done growing and that excuses are not permitted, but support is always available. During an assignment in the classroom, I had a student who wanted to give up because his paper did not look like the example. I insisted he persist and that we could fix it to make it fit the assignment. We eventually came to an agreement and he finished the assignment. 
5. Reflection
Teachers listen to their students, and learn what they need to change to help the students learn. Teachers are constantly reflecting on the students work and their own. It does nothing to just reflect without taking action on the things you learn from your reflections. Students deserve to be taught in various ways that benefit their learning. When I was in the classroom, I encouraged students to reflect on their learning and how they got the answers they did. It was a great way for me to see where they were at and for them to establish what they were learning.