“I can’t teach students unless I like them. I can’t like them unless I know them, and I can’t know them unless I talk to them.” That’s why he spends the first class period every term doing nothing but learning his students’ names and a little about their lives. After that, everyone gets down to work, but he continues to punctuate his class time with short, personal touch points with each student. He begins each class by checking in with each student to acknowledge him or her individually and to check on homework completion.
