Empathetic vs. Pushover
One hard thing for me is to walk the fine line between babying adult learners and being empathetic. One section of this module talked about the characteristics of a motivating instructor. The traits they included were offering expertise, having empathy, showing enthusiasm, and demonstrating clarity. This is a good list for me. I am great at offering expertise and not too bad at enthusiasm and clarity, but it’s the empathy area that I have the most trouble with. I am afraid that students will take advantage of that. Does anyone have any advice for me on this area?
Roger,
Good information for instructors to consider. We need to demonstrate we care about them but don't become too close as you say. One of the challenges of being a supportive instructor.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It is very easy to become too involved in the lives of students. I avoid it as much as possible and sometimes you are viewed as cold or uncaring because of it. it is a fine line you must walk.
Roxsie,
You make a good point. Make sure to know what resources are available in your school so you can do referrals when needed. This way you won't become too involved in the lives of your students but will be helping to cope with their problems through the referrals.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It is hard to keep from getting to involved with students that have serious personal problems you want to help them but sometimes they do try and take advantage of your kindness. You must always follow school policy to keep from becoming too personally involved.
Susan,
This is a good policy to have and follow. Thank you for sharing it with us. New instructors sometimes get caught up in not following their policy and their students take advantage of them. This way the policy is what it is and it is consistently being followed, end of story.
Gary
I agree. We have a class policy that explains what the expectations are for class. That way if a student is out for whatever reason I can explain that I am very sorry for the reason, but we do have a class policy for the work that was missed. If there is anything I can do for them to help them get through this crisis please let me know. That way I dont feel torn between deciding who I should let slide due to feeling sympathy for them.
Hi Beth,
That can be difficult sometimes if the student is new and you haven't gotten to know them yet. Talk to your students and get to know them individually and by doing that you will become a better judge of character when it comes to these students.
Showing understanding and empathy does not mean weakness. With adults you can be alot more up front with them so they don't mistake empathy for weakness.
Hi Angelica,
This is a good question and one that I would ask of my administration. As an instructor you are assigning projects that contribute to the growth of the students, thus they need to complete them. To not have the resources to purchase the supplies needed leaves them with a void in their education. Your administration should either cover the costs for these projects or fold the costs into the overall tuition so the students don't have to come up with money throughout the course.
Gary
I believe as long as your empathy does not turn towards sympathy your ok. While it is very easy to confuse the two there are certainly differences.
-Jeff
I have a question concerning students' ability to afford course materials. They receive a kit, but most projects involve some sort of monetary investment. How do I address issues where assignments are not submitted because they could not afford their supplies?
Hi Beth,
I can understand your concern about showing too much empathy and being taken advantage of by students. The key is to show empathy which is an understanding of the situations that students are going through. Empathy does not mean waving off course requirements or reducing standards. So by letting your students know you understand they have many life issues going on you are displaying empathy and by holding the students to the standards of the course you are displaying professionalism. This does not mean that you can not adjust an assignment now and then based upon individual situations but it does mean that you are focused on the success of your students and the effort they put forth to achieve that success.
Gary
