Miranda earned her communications and biology
In an age where touch seems taboo between a student and a teacher, studies and educators reveal the value of practising positive touch in a classroom setting to build healthy student-teacher relationships. Students have differing backgrounds, so it is helpful for educators to know not only the value of touch, but also when it is and isn't necessary.
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I am a teacher and I cuddle my students.
Does that sound strange? Hear me out…
In every classroom and age I’ve taught, I’ve always put a heartfelt emphasis on the value of touch — whether it’s a hug, holding hands, cuddling, putting my hand on the arm or shoulder, and even gently moving hair away from the eyes or wiping a tear.
During reading times, I’m that teacher, the one that lets the kids lay all over me. It’s cosy, and they love it.
I feel it’s a strength of the giver, and the receiver, to offer and accept nurturing in the form of human touch. I’ve connected with the toughest of kids in this way just by simply making the subtlest of physical contact.
This tells the child they are safe, they can relax their guard, and very importantly, they are cared about.
Rick Chillot from Psychology Today says, “Touch is the first sense we acquire and the secret weapon in many a successful relationship.”
Science and experience agree:
Creating a safe and peaceful environment in the classroom is absolutely essential to building healthy relationships with the students and it’s a practice that never ends. If the children do not feel a trustworthy connection with the teacher, then it will be nearly impossible for social and academic productivity in the classroom.
Neuroscience Professor, David J Linden from John Hopkins University School of Medicine and the author of Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart and Mind emphasises, “It’s not so much that touch is a useful tool in teaching facts and strategies – it’s not as if, while stroking a student’s arm as they practice algebra, they will learn algebra better. More than anything else, what touch conveys is, I’m an ally, I’m not a threat. Touch puts the recipient in a trusting state, and anything you can do to encourage the student is going to make learning better.”
Blaire Lent is the owner and lead teacher at The Complete Student in Beaufort, South Carolina. Her small, private school focuses on an enriching, individualised and project-based curriculum for middle and high school students. All of the students who attend, whether gifted or learning disabled, have not felt a true sense of belonging at traditional schools, so their parents have opted for a more personal experience for their children to benefit from.
“I make sure to pat students on the back and to put a hand on their shoulders for multiple reasons. It’s a great way to help students direct and maintain attention, and sometimes it’s a helpful tool to remind students that I’m a real human being and that I’m here for them,” Lent reiterates.
A study measured and analysed elementary children’s daily cortisol levels (the stress hormone), as the students went through a typical week at school. The researchers learned the children often began the school week with normal cortisol levels and started showing fluctuating and increased stress levels as the week progressed. This indicated the children were under strain and had above-average stress for a small child. In contrast, this study also revealed that children in supportive, secure student-teacher relationships – maintained normal, healthy stress hormonal patterns throughout the week (5).
Physiological benefits of appropriate touch
As multitudes of studies and experiences have suggested, the value of affectionate, positive, supportive touch cannot be underestimated. It is one of the best ways to create a healthy and successful student-teacher relationship. So, what are the physiological benefits and what kinds of touch are we talking about?
When writing my thesis in college on the effects of natural and complementary medicines on anxiety and depression, positive human touch repeatedly came up. Fascinatingly enough, there are huge physiological shifts in the body when human touch is brought into the equation.
One example is the simple act of hugging.
Lauren Suval from PsychCentral explains, “Hugging induces oxytocin, the bonding hormone that is renowned for reducing stress, lowering cortisol levels, and increasing a sense of trust and security.”
One particular research from the University of North Carolina presented women who were hugged more often by their partners, showed higher levels of oxytocin and lower levels of blood pressure and heart rates. Various research has identified that when oxytocin levels are low and blood pressure and heart rate are high, the breath becomes shallower and oxygen doesn’t reach the brain as easily. This, in turn, creates anxiety, something that too many children and young adults are experiencing in school.
Hugging can boost the immune system through gentle pressure on the sternum and the emotional charge this creates;’/ activates the Solar Plexus Chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, responsible for regulating and balancing the body’s production of white blood cells, which keeps you healthy.
Holding hands is also a calming way to increase healthy brain activity and to boost relationships. The act of clasping hands reduces stress-related activity in the hypothalamus, which controls the amount of cortisol coursing through the body. It also helps to reduce anxiety in the part of the brain that registers pain and helps the body from feeling as much pain.
The behaviour and emotions of infants and children are very similar when it comes to how much positive human touch they are receiving. Studies have shown that infants who receive extra touch become more organised, better sleepers, are less fussy during the day, and respond better to the interactions with a caretaker or teacher. Dr Sears explains that when a baby or child is touched often in a way that shows nurturing, care, and love they are more likely to build better self-esteem as it gives value to their being a person.
Putting a hand on the shoulder or arm is another way of promoting healthy relationships, and is most often used for older children, too. Christopher Berglund from Psychology Today reports that studies done on affective touch, such as putting a hand on the arm or shoulder, show that it improves proprioception (sense of self) and literally helps to make someone comfortable in their own skin, which is the opposite of what many students feel if there is little to no supportive touch from a teacher or loved one.
If this is the case, then, “It sends the message that you are afraid of them or there is something wrong with them,” says Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion 2.0. This is not a feeling that any teacher would want to convey to a student, which brings me to another point: communication.
Touch helps to build and increase communication between two people. Laura Guerrero is co-author of Close Encounters: Communication in Relationships and also researches nonverbal and emotional communication at Arizona State University. Guerrero says, “We feel more connected to someone if they touch us. If you’re close enough to touch, it’s often the easiest way to signal something."
Even more interesting, according to the Touch Research Institute, hormonal and brain activity analyses have revealed that we reap all the same benefits as those we are touching, meaning that when you give someone a hug, you are receiving just as much benefit as the person being hugged.
Doesn’t that make you want to go out and hug everyone you know?
Not so fast… Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy.
When it’s okay and when it’s not okay.
So, here’s the tricky part. There are plenty of physiological and emotional benefits of supportive touch, but when is it okay to actually put it into practice? Honestly, appropriate touch depends on the scenario.
Besides the fact that some administrators and parents have deprived their children, based out of fear and hype, of essential developmental experiences by banning touch in schools (9) (we aren’t going to go there here), there is a large population of kids who have learning differences that inhibit their social and sensory abilities, and others who may react indifferently to touch because sadly, they have never experienced nurturing touch.
Maralee Bradley wrote the article, The Kids Who Don’t Say Hi, based on children who are deeply struggling with language and social interaction. Bradley says, ”Obviously, for some kids touch will not be appreciated, so you’ll want to ask first or offer something like a handshake where they can engage if they feel comfortable.”
The child may not immediately answer or respond, but it doesn’t mean they didn’t hear you. If you are already a trusted adult in that child’s book, then a light pat on the back with an, 'I like you,' and leaving it at that, gives the child relief at not being required to talk and can allow him to really absorb your interaction.
Meredith Fent, a school counsellor at Lowcountry Montessori Charter School, has 17 years of experience, varying from high poverty environments to children of the middle class. Fent also agrees that there are times when you have to judge when not to touch.
“I have worked with autistic students and an example is a time when one little boy was overstimulated. He did not want to be touched and he learned to say no either by nodding or by saying no touch. Other times he would come and nuzzle wanting a hug. He would also need a tight hand squeeze when he was afraid of the fire alarm, or if someone misunderstood his words. This made him calm his breathing and feel safe, knowing he was with someone who was not going to leave and could help him.”
Fent also suggests that for children with sensory development disorder, to refer to the child’s occupational therapist and parents for suggestions on how to touch that particular child, because, as Bradley says, “It may not be a one-size-fits-all solution.”
Many teachers are keenly aware of their students’ backgrounds – the possibilities of abuse and how it impacts their experience at school and in the sometimes-tedious task of building relationships. But struggling kids do not have to be doomed to poor outcomes.
Linden tells Jessica Lahey from The Atlantic that, “Appropriate social touch in school is vitally important to children who do not experience it at home, or for children who are abused. It’s important to realise that there is a role for social touching that isn’t abuse, that’s simply a normal and healthy means of bonding with other human beings.”
According to Parenting Science, studies suggest that at-risk students are more likely than other kids to benefit from supportive student-teacher relationships but it doesn’t always have to come in the form of touch, as Anna Jackson tells us. Jackson has been a teacher for 17 years and has focused her energy mainly in inner-city schools. Her method of following her own teacher intuition, when working with middle and high school children, has given her a very respectable reputation among students, co-workers and administrators.
She says, “I only avoid [physical] contact if the student is uncomfortable with me, doesn’t know me or if I know something about their background, such as being sexually or physically abused. Some students like hugs, but in middle school, the most effective point to me is what I call Proximity Control. I pull a chair right up to their desks and sit with them. They love that, and the close contact seems to replace physical touching and it reaps the same benefits.”
There are times to withhold touch, but as Peter Anderson from San Diego University’s School of Communication and author of Nonverbal Communication: Forms and Functions, suggests, there are also safe zones for appropriate touch such as the shoulders and arms, by giving handshakes, high fives, and gentle backslaps.
As so many educators and researchers have suggested, the value of supportive, appropriate touch in the classroom is enormous. Hugging, holding hands and simply a hand on the shoulder or arm can give the teacher-student relationship an invaluable boost that will physiologically and social-emotionally reward the giver and the receiver, not to mention benefit the student’s academics. Because, as Lemov reiterates, “Touch is not just an essential part of teaching, but an essential part of what it means to be human.”
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Miranda Altice
Miranda earned her communications and biology degrees in 2004 and later focused her studies on researching natural therapies used to treat anxiety and depression. Miranda was a Montessori and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) teacher for nearly 15 years, concentrating on science and mindfulness activities for pre-school to high school students.
Coming from a lineage of writers, Miranda expresses ideas, inspirations, and research through journalism. Her articles have been featured in magazines, blogs, and newsletters since 2002, and she has a flair for transforming challenging, scientific jargon into thought-provoking articles for the general public.
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