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Happy Monday Principal Matters listeners! This week, Will Parker and Jen Schwanke are discussing a topic from Jen Schwanke’s new book, Trusted: Trust Pillars, Trust Killers, and the Secret to Successful Schools. Today’s conversation is part one of a two part conversation about building trust with students. Building trust with students is an essential skill for school leaders and teachers, but before talking about how to build trust, Jen is going to share with the audience some factors that kill trust between students and administrators. Trust killers are never done to intentionally destroy trust, but school leaders need to stay mindful of what behaviors can kill trust nonetheless. One trust breaker is public shaming, or calling someone out publicly for their misbehavior. Embarrassment is a huge driver for student behavior, so trying to find ways to address student behavior without embarrassing them is important for maintaining trust. Another trust breaker for students is favoritism. Students can always tell whenever a teacher or a principal have favorites; they will not trust individuals who have favorites. The third trust breaker that Jen lists is a lack of due process. It is so important for school leaders to allow students to feel like they are heard, even when they are in trouble. Another trust killer that Jen lists is ambiguous or arbitrary decisions. Students need to know why things happen, especially when it comes to policies and procedures. Exclusivity is another trust killer that Jen adds to the list. Sometimes, the idea of rewarding the exact same profile of a student tends to award the same type of student. The final two trust killers that Jen shares are disrespect and overstepping boundaries. Listen in to the full conversation and tune in next week to learn about things that build trust with students!
