Today’s post comes from two passionate educators at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit, Natalie Bowen and Shannon Graham, who know the importance of building authentic connections. They share how their team found creative ways to model the same community-building practices we value at Edtomorrow.
As educators, we’re constantly looking for ways to build stronger classroom communities. We implement icebreakers, circle time activities, and team-building exercises to help our students connect with one another. But here’s a question that stopped us in our tracks recently: Are we modeling the very connections we’re asking our students to make?
The Authenticity Challenge
We wouldn’t ask our students to write a persuasive essay without showing them examples of powerful writing. We wouldn’t expect them to solve complex math problems without demonstrating problem-solving strategies ourselves. So why do we sometimes ask them to be vulnerable, share personal stories, or connect authentically with classmates without first showing them what that looks like among the adults in their learning community?
Start with the Grown-Ups
Before launching into that next classroom community-building activity, consider this: What if we started with ourselves?
Making It Real in Practice
This doesn’t mean oversharing personal details or turning your workplace into a therapy session. It means bringing your authentic self to your professional relationships and letting students see what respectful, curious, supportive adult interaction looks like.
A Simple Strategy That Works
Here’s one concrete example from our Teaching & Learning Department.
We moved a dry erase easel, “The Board”, near the copy machine in hopes of finding a centralized spot for adults to read and write on it based on weekly activities or questions. We know not everyone is in the same space at the same time to organize this type of activity live, so we decided to remove that barrier and leave a question or image up for the week.
We would take a First Five question or create one of our own, and sometimes print a graphic to go along with it. This small act created something powerful—a natural gathering point where the adults could engage with the same types of reflection prompts and community-building questions we use with students. Whether it was “What’s the best popsicle flavor?” or “Share one word to describe this school year,” The Board became a space for authentic adult connection.
The week leading up to the Super Bowl, we asked “What’s your favorite app?” which led to a frenzy of connections—colleagues asking for recipes and bringing in samples of their favorite foods to share. What started as a simple question on a whiteboard turned into a week-long celebration of culture and community, and stories behind family recipes.
Another week, we posed the question “What’s a job you had before working here?” with instructions to keep responses anonymous. We transformed these submissions into a guessing game at our next department meeting, challenging everyone to match each previous role to the right colleague. What followed was an afternoon filled with laughter, surprised discoveries, and engaging follow-up conversations that brought our team closer together.
The Beauty of this Approach
Those who may be quiet and not as likely to strike up a conversation can be seen and heard. Those who may not be around each other often can see similarities and connection points with those they don’t often work or interact with. We are “practicing what we preach” so we can also experience the challenges or discomforts to help navigate those we encourage to use these strategy and problem solve with them. Rather than present to educators about something they should do with their students without having tried it ourselves, we can give real life tips and show empathy for the process.
We found even those unamused by the board at first gradually started participating and calling us out if we forgot to change the question….which eventually grew into that person making up and starting new questions when we were not in the office to do it.
Try this in your school – whether it’s the mailbox area or faculty room or a common shared adult space. Even better- have it somewhere visible to students. Students walking by could see their teachers being real people—sharing struggles, celebrating wins, and engaging with the same vulnerability we ask of them. It normalizes the idea that learning and growing together isn’t just for kids.
The next time you plan a “get to know you” activity for your students, ask yourself: When was the last time I genuinely got to know something new about a colleague? When have my students seen me model the kind of vulnerability and curiosity I’m asking of them?
Natalie Bowen – Teaching & Learning Specialist – Delaware County Intermediate Unit, formerly a school counselor, 18 years experience in education
Shannon Graham – Professional Development Specialist – Delaware County Intermediate Unit, formerly an elementary education teacher, 22 years experience in education