There are more than 100 classes available to students in the Frisco ISD Course Catalog. Most are on campus, while others take place at the CTE Center, and some even online.

For many students, the subject matter is what’s important, but the relationship a student has with their teachers and the corresponding level of engagement can be two tools helpful to furthering education.

“The relationship between student and teacher is important for both parties,” counselor Andrea Douglas said. “Ultimately, teachers are here to help students master a curriculum and prepare them for the next stage of life. The more positive the connection, the easier it is to insure that this happens. When students are comfortable with a teacher it is easier to ask for and receive help.”

Regardless of the course material, a student’s comfort level can affect student teacher relationships.

“I think that DGA, specifically because it involves creativity and art, it kind of allows students to express themselves a little bit more, and the way that we have the classroom set up makes it a little more comfortable,” Digital Graphics and Animation teacher Hillary Wysong said. “I think they feel more comfortable being themselves and if they have issues I think they are comfortable talking to me.”

Having good relationships with teachers can benefit students in high school but also have long term effects.

“Another benefit is learning how to contribute/interact with a group,” Douglas said. “This is a life skill that many college classes and careers will require. The more practice you get in high school, the better prepared you will be in the future.”

By nature of the subject matter, some classes make it more natural for students and teachers to connect, with “authentic” teachers found to be better at engaging their students.

“I think that my topic makes it really easy to have relationships with students because so much of humanities and English is discussion,” former English and Humanities teacher Sarah Baker said. “I’ve been discussing relevant current events and aspects of humanity and being a human, so that makes it easy to open up dialogue that could be on a deeper level personally than you might see in a more math or science class.”

Regardless of the subject matter, there’s a moment that resonates with most teachers.

“I teach for the students. It makes me so happy when I see something clicks, or when I see them accomplish something that they’ve been working hard on,” Baker said. “Teaching is for most teachers I think, is not so much about the content that they’re teaching but seeing the students reach their potential.”