Barry White, Jr., a 5th grade English teacher at Ashley Park PreK-8 School in Charlotte, North Carolina has engineered a new way to connect with his students.
Barry has devised personalised handshakes with each of his students. “I’m always pumped up and then we start doing the moves and that brings them excitement and pumps them up for a high-energy class.”
Each handshake is different and custom according to the student’s personality.
“I started with one simple handshake last year with a 4th grader,” he explained. “She would wait for me every morning before she’d go to class. She’d get in trouble sometimes for being late because she’d wait on the handshake.”
This year, he started to making handshakes with the kids at recess, starting with one, two and it became contagious. “I saw how much it meant to them, so I said, ‘Come on. Everyone come on.’ Then it was my full class, then it was kids from other classes. Now I have 3rd graders wanting to do it too.”
