RT101.
What do we do when the student does not inform us that they want to drop?
This certainly is a very encouraging message for non-traditional students, and is applicable to traditional students as well. Hopefully, it provides a direct and immediate boost to their internal motivation.
I can easily determine some of the "signs" of a potentially at-risk student who has a higher risk to dropping school, but after some 35+ years in education I still have not determined what it takes to keep a student other than internal motivation--a burning desire to achieve and graduate. I have told many of my first quarter students that it doesn't matter what I might think; rather, it does matter and it matters a great deal what they think. I have told some of my students that they might not have been so good as a student earlier in thier lives, but now they are older (chronologically), mentally (cognitively), and emotionally (psychologically). I continue to share with the students in my charge that they are better than they use to be, but that they are not what they can be.
I think we need to look for those little cues; increased absenteeism, slacking-off with homework or projects, a change in personality or attentiveness. I make it a point to ask each student how they are doing each day; do they say "fine", "great",yes, usually, but sometimes you get the "not so hot" and that can open the line of communication and possible get them the help they need.
