Is your village embracing or burning?

Yesterday, I stumbled upon this Ethiopian Proverb and immediately I could think of several students in my school that are burning their village to receive the warmth. But I also had to consider the teacher that is in charge of the village and why these students were burning it. Our students come to us with a variety of backgrounds, but the one thing they have in common is that fact that they want to receive warming care, and they will find a way to get it whether it be positive or negative. As village leaders (educators), if we want to keep our village from crashing and burning, we need to begin by building a strong relationship with our students immediately. A few ways to ensure building a positive relationship with your students are to greet them at the door each morning, ask them about what they ate for dinner the night before, find things that you and the student have in common and talk about it go to one of their rec activities or start an lunch bunch or after school club. These are just a few ways to build an embracing village and keep your village from burning. I am sure there are many other ways; please feel free to share them.