Because drawing conclusions is like passing judgement. Alot of people automatically count them out as dysfunctional not able to learn. They are no different from other students. The key is making sure these students are given a little extra attention.
Mckinley,
You are right -- we cannot and should not be in the business of diagnosing disability. We are in a position to notice (and respond appropriately) to the behavior of the student in the classroom. But that should be based on our observations, not our assumptions.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Clyde,
I am not sure it is your job, as an instructor, to reach out to students because you THINK they have psychological problems, so much as reaching out because you can SEE that they are struggling. Let them tell you why that is, don't suggest it to them.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Not being an expert, it would be wrong of me to try and diagnose anyone. My responsibility is to teach the student what is in my lesson plan and that only.
Working with individuals that have psychological disabilities is challenging. Identifying student that have these issues must be handled delicately. If they were diagnosed then they already understand and devising a plan for their success will be manageable. Working with students that are unaware they have this problem can be tricky because trying to reach out sometimes efforts are meet with hostility and the student feels as if they are being singled out of the group. I like talk to these students privately when I see they are struggling with the class to help them succeed.
Anne,
I agree. It is important to note, however, that this is not a goal JUST for students with disabilities. It is the same goal you have for all students. The hope is always that disability will be a "neutral" in the classroom. It won't matter to you, and an instructor, so it won't matter to them, either!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
while psychological disabilities can impact the learning ability of the student it is the responsibility of the instructor to see beyond the disability and focus on the learning needs of the student and to make his/her experience in the classroom beneficial, not traumatic
Cheryl,
I certainly can't argue with the idea of one-on-one time. But I expect that this is just part of what you do as a good teacher, regardless of your perception of the student as having a psych disability or not. You reach out to students who seem to be struggling... and that's great!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I totally agree with you and try to treat all my students with respect. If I detect there might be any psychological disabilities I often will give them some one on one time and they usually respond quite favorably both socially and academically.
Jimmy,
Yep! It is always better to deal with the person than with the diagnosis!
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I too could not agree with this more. Why do we have to put tags and titles on everything. Get to no the person and you can learn how to work with them.
Jacquie,
You're welcome. I used to have a sign over my desk that read, "There are ways, and then there are ways, of saying things to people!" It had a picture of a little caveman holding out a bouquet of flowers in his right hand, while he had a club concealed behind his back. GRIN
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Jane,
You are correct. I never thought about communicating it that way at all. In the past I would see a student who has problems with inattention or I can see they may have dyslexia from obeservation and wanted to say look into this learning disorder, but that is inappropriate. Thanks for the advice, this generalizes it more and takes away sublectiveness then I can't assume they have a complete learning disorder...thanks!
Jacquie,
You do not need a diagnosis to have a frank and comfortable discussion with the student. You can call the student in and say, "I notice that you seem to be having trouble with ___. Is there anything I can or should be doing to help you?" It is never inappropriate to offer assistance.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I believe it is important so we as instructors won't assume or stereotype students. It is really easy to put students into a "category" and really that is not fair. If we are not pyschologists we cannot diagnose. However, I do find it difficult to not to be able to suggest a disorder that we may see blatantly. How can we accomodate the student if we cannot suggest a learning issue?
Leslie ,
You are right. As you cannot know the reasons or causes behind the student's behavior, the only logical thing to do is to deal with the behavior itself.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
Because when you are dealing with a psychological problem, you could never really know what is truly going on inside that persons head. We could never know how someone is feeling so we may not make assumptions about anything.
Emil,
Perhaps the important thing to remember is that they are STUDENTS, first and foremost. They should not be defined by their disability, nor should we establish our interaction with them on the basis of that disability. As you note, our goals for such students are just the same as they are for any other student, and our focus remains on what they LEARN, not who they are.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
I believe that prejudging a condition can harm the students as well as can lead to unpleasent results. These observations are important for a further investigation of the suspected disability in order to help the students not just the disability but also with the learning process.
Carrie,
Well said! That kind of open attitude and willingness to believe in potential will serve your students well.
Dr. Jane Jarrow
