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As a seasoned tc’er and someone who has a lot of experience with telling my tc exactly how I feel I thought I would put together a list of things I did (or I think would work) to get closer with your tc.
It is important that you do not do these things under any expectation that they will reciprocate any feelings you have. Respect boundaries. Remember they are people and that being a friend/mentor will be more valuable to you than you realise. DO NOT EXPECT ANYTHING ROMANTIC.
- be vocal and interactive in class, being engaged in a teachers lesson is not only flattering but shows you have interest
- try to find some common ground, for my tc it was vinyls and our love of movies
- don’t try to force something romantic. Aim to be friends because that is the only way they will open up and talk to you like anything more than a student
- if your school had any fun events or games, start a rivalry and tease them about you winning it. Challenge them.
- compliment them, everyone likes compliments and it doesn’t have to be super obvious. Some compliments I would recommed are; I love your tshirt, your hair looks good today, that lesson was really fun/interesting, you’re super funny or smart. Stuff like that.
- say thank you when you leave class, it’s the little things that make you seem polite and stick out from the crowd
- if you’re looking to go into the subject they teach, ask them about their experience. And if you aren’t, ask them what University was like or if they think it was worth it
- take interest in their lives, ask them how their day/week/ weekend was and really listen. As long as they say something there’s always something you can continue the conversation with
- if you start to become more friendly ask if you can spend time in their room at lunch (you may even sit in silence but it’s better than nothing)
- do something outside of class that involves them. Join the musical, offer to take photos for the newsletter, help run younger students activities
- make an inside joke. Something fun and lighthearted that they can expect when they see you. (I kept stealing a trophy he won and put it in my home room, I wrote a ransom note and everything. It was lighthearted and worked to start conversation)
- if you see them walking around say hi or stop and have a chat
- ask for advice over email or something to start other forms of communication
- if you two talk about music, make a playlist and put songs you recommend on there (I did this and it is still one of my favourite things)
- tell them you like to spend time with them, don’t try to hide your feelings but tell them little truths.
- tease them. Tell them to step up their PowerPoint game or to stop acting so old.
Obviously these are concrete examples of what you can do but the most valuable thing you can do is treat them like a real person. Just because they’re your teacher doesn’t mean they’re not human, just like you.
Find what works for you and your tc, it’s not as scary as you think.