In the current age, students like myself and others deal with anxiety, depression, and the pressures of being perfect. It’s very common that this causes stress and less motivation. But, amid all of the stress, there is one thing we need to realize; We are not alone in our struggles. When educators realize we are in a tough spot, they take time to help us combat our feelings.

Adrian Evans, a social studies teacher at Kennedy High School, finds himself in this position. Evans puts in the time to check on students before teaching content, believing that building relationships helps students and makes himself a better educator. 

Teachers like Evans have a sense regarding when to reach out to students that may be struggling. There have been two occasions where he took time to check in on me, offering chocolate in hopes that my day would improve. Though chocolate is a small gesture, knowing that he cared enough to offer was important to me.

“I think both sides benefit from it, the student knows that there’s somebody in the building that will take a check, even if it’s just a quick second,” Evans said.

For students, including myself, it’s comforting to know that there is a teacher we can reach out to when we’re in a tough situation. When struggling, it is difficult to talk to the teacher first. It takes an ample amount of courage. Sometimes, though, it’s not always the student that has to reach out first.

“A good teacher always knows if their student is struggling, [and they] can actually help their students.” Josh Sheeley, who is both taught and coached by Evans, said.

The ratio of content to relationships is not consistent between all educators. Even for Evans, it shifts on a day to day basis. Some days there’s no option but to focus on content, and Evans has to power through the content, leaving only a few seconds to check in on students.

“I think each teacher [has to] find their own balance,” Evans said. “There are some days where you’ve just gotta absolutely pound through some content, and there are other days where they’re doing an activity and you can pull a kid off to the side, and I think that can sometimes be really healthy.” 

There are many times it’s hard to talk to a teacher, but Evans assures that teachers are there for you, no matter the circumstance. He believes that teachers should try to at least make an attempt.

“I think you’re always going to have those teachers where you just don’t jive and everybody has that, and it’s natural. But, I think that you at least have to make an attempt, to really try and get along with them and to make sure that they understand.” Evans said

Regardless of the student and our willingness to admit it, we have all needed help at some point in our educational career. I know that I have definitely been in that boat before, and it’s extremely comforting to know that there is support.

It’s teachers like these who keep us students on track, knowing we will always have support not only in the classroom, but outside too.

 “We all want to do the best we can… we want kids to be successful.” Evans said.