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Five Dimensions of Trust We Must Build and Protect

We know that trust takes time to build. It also requires experiences—those we share and those we hear from others. Students build a history with us that tells them who we are and whether we can be trusted, and they also tell each other about their experiences and which adults they can trust. In fact, our students usually know much about us, good and bad, before they even enter our classrooms. Of course, not everything students share with each other is accurate, so there are times when we need to build experiences that counter what students expect when they enter our class. At other times, we may benefit from the positive, trust-building experiences past students have had with us.

Beyond taking time to build, trust has multiple dimensions. We might think of trust in broad terms and assume that all trust is the same or that trust in one area means that trust exists elsewhere. Yet, close examination reveals that trust comes in multiple forms and carries varied implications for the relationships we build. The truth is that trust includes dimensions such as the extent to which student can predict how we will act and react in situations, how they can expect to be treated, whether our caring extends to them as a student and as a person, and whether they can depend on us to do what we promise. Let’s explore five crucial areas of trust we need to build and maintain with students if we hope to make a significant and lasting difference in their learning and lives.

First, students want to trust that we are competent. Students depend on us to teach, guide, coach, and support them as they learn. They want assurance that we have the skills, knowledge, experience, and judgment to lead them to success. We build this type of trust by demonstrating our skills and helping students to develop theirs. The processes and procedures we put in place, and the resources we share, reassure students that they can trust what we share, depend on what we advise, and be cautious about what we urge them to avoid.

Second, students want to trust that we will be consistent. They want assurance that they will be treated fairly, regardless of who they are, who their family is, whether they have a history of academic success, or even whether they have had behavior issues in the past. Students also want to know that we have high ethical standards and will be fair and transparent in what we expect and how their progress and performance are evaluated. Further, students need to feel confident that our expectations will remain stable. What we expect one day needs to remain the same the next day. They also seek assurance that we will give their thoughts, ideas, and input the weight and consideration they warrant.

Third, students want assurance that we will follow through when we make a commitment. When we promise to do something, they want to know that we will do it. If we say we will find an answer, complete a task, or secure a resource, students want to be able to depend on us to do just that. If we promise a party or reward for completing a project or achieving a goal, we need to do all that we can to see that it happens. This type of trust also applies to limits we set. If we promise a consequence for unacceptable behavior, students want to know that we will do as we say. Of course, they may try to talk us out of it, but they still want to know that we will follow through with our commitment.

Fourth, students want assurance that we will maintain confidentiality. When students share their secrets, stories, fears, and worries, they want to know that we will not share what they have told us without their knowledge and permission—unless we have no choice as mandatory reporters. Students especially want to be confident that we will not gossip about them or share embarrassing information with colleagues. Above all, students want to know that we will not thoughtlessly hurt them, diminish how others see them, or damage their reputation.

Fifth, students want to be confident in the depth of our caring. Students seek assurance that we care about and know them as individuals. They want reassurance that we will create and maintain an environment that is safe and supportive, free of bullying, discrimination, and harassment. Our patience when students struggle can offer reassurance that we understand that learning can be hard. Similarly, our concern when they hurt can mean more than we imagine.

We need to remember that while trust takes time to build, it can be destroyed in a single minute. When we discover that students believe that we have violated their trust, we need to move quickly to do everything we can to correct or clarify the situation and restore their trust. We don’t have to be strong in every area, but the more ways in which students feel they can trust us, the more they will allow us to influence them—often for a lifetime.

Five Lessons We Should NOT Teach Our Students

In Your Corner, Student Learning

February 27, 2025

Five Lessons We Should NOT Teach Our Students

There are many lessons we want and need to teach our students. Schools are designed to present students with a set of lessons, related experiences, and feedback to build their learning, and they typically have a formal curriculum that presents the learning that students are expected to gain. Consequently, we spend most of our time designing lessons and experiences that are aligned with intended outcomes and that we hope will result in learning.

However, there are times when we may also be teaching our students lessons of which we are not conscious or do not intend. We may do so by habit, neglect, or tradition. In fact, they may be lessons that we were taught as students, and we are simply passing them along. Yet, they can narrow our students’ understanding of learning, leave them with assumptions that cap their learning potential, and limit their preparation for life. Here are five lessons we need to be careful not to pass along to our students.

Lesson #1: Learning is primarily for the purpose of getting good grades. We often tell students to study hard and practice so that they will get a good grade. However, the purpose of studying and practice should be to learn. A good grade may follow good learning, absolutely. A high grade gained by any means other than learning is not worth much. A better lesson to teach is that studying and practicing are for the purpose of learning. When study and practice are done well, good grades will typically follow.

Lesson #2: Adults are supposed to ask questions and students are to give answers. The traditional school structure features teachers questioning students to determine if they have learned. Students are to respond with expected answers. While this process has a role in the teaching and learning process, too often it focuses students’ attention on what adults want to hear, not on what students want to know. In fact, student questions are often discouraged because they take up precious time and may lead to distractions from a planned lesson or activity. Yet, meaningful learning often comes through discovering answers to questions students ask, not just the questions presented by teachers.

Lesson #3: Learning only happens when students are quiet and listening. Certainly, listening is one way to take in information and being quiet can facilitate listening. However, learning can occur through many channels, including when students discuss, debate, and engage in dialogue. Learning can happen when students try something and it does not work as they expected. Learning can result from what students wonder about and choose to explore. In fact, experience-based and curiosity-driven learning often lead to deeper understanding and longer recall than when students are only told how something works. There are times for sitting quietly and listening, but we need to be careful to balance listening with other types of learning.

Lesson #4: Compliance is of greater value than curiosity. Our schools were originally designed to prepare students to become compliant workers. Our system of education was created at the dawn of the moving assembly line; employers needed workers who would show up, do what they were told, and ask few questions. Moving assembly lines did not encourage or accommodate curiosity or creativity. Yet, the world for which we are preparing today’s students will require constant creativity, incessant curiosity, and ongoing initiative.

Lesson #5: Every problem is solved by finding one right answer. Most problems presented to students in school, in fact, have only one correct answer. The questions are designed for that to be the case. Yet, teaching students to always find the one correct answer is inconsistent with how the world works. In life, there are often multiple right answers. Some answers may be better than others. Some answers work better in one circumstance or at one time than others. While being precise has a role to play in learning, so does speculation, intuition, and suspicion. We need to be careful to avoid having students learn that problems they will encounter always have to be solved with the one right answer.

Obviously, these are only a few of the potential lessons we want students not to learn from us. What other examples of lessons not to teach might you suggest?