Christina,
How do you get students to open up and share personal things with you, especially if they have never had you as a teacher before?
I completely agree with this statement. I know from my experience getting to something about each one of students builds a special bond. By building this bond it makes the students feel comfortable coming to me with any difficulties in their lives whether in their education or personal. A happy healthy student is much more eager to learn.
Thank you Keith. It sounds like your team is really listening and staying aware of what is happening with your students.
You're observation that we are not counselors is a good one. We serve as advisors and mentors to our students and leave couseling up to those trained in that profession.
No matter what we call it, this interaction is the key to successful academic teams. I look forward to your postes in the remaining forums.
We ask our instructors that as they monitor their students performance to look for students who: 1. Fails a test early, 2. Misses more than 6 hours of class, 3. Recieves several professionalism infractions, 4. Hears through the student grapevine that a student is having issues. Our instructors are not necessarily counselors but they are empowered to engage the students in conversations to gain information as to how we can assist them better. If there is an issue the instructor either sends the student to see one of our counselors or an Education Manager. Many times we find that there are circumstances going on in the student's life that we can help them through as long as we catch it early enough.
Thank you for the post, Keith.
What are some of the "red flags" that your team looks for?
Absolutely we are in more than one business! We've trained our staff to look for those "at risk" students. How do you do that? By looking at factors that might cause one to not be successful in their course. You not only have to deliver a great student experience, but you have to know your students and when you notice that there is a "red flag" in your mind stop and ask questions to determine their issue and help resolve it.
We have to be in the mental health business to be successful. Our students often come to us with very low confidence and self esteem. In order for us to give them the academic experiences they need, they have to be complete our programs. They can only do that if we intentionally address things like confidence, self esteem, positive self talk and winning HABEs.
I agree. Since my position is to do whatever it takes to help the students attain their educational goals, I listen to their problems, issues, etc. I keep a resource file that has information about agencies that can help the students who may need counseling, housing, childcare, medication, food, and anything else that the student may need. I do a lot of listening and suggest ways of overcoming some of the obstables they are facing that interfere with their ability to attend classes. I guess you can say I am a mother, counselor, brother, sister, etc. Whatever I need to be for the student, I will be. At graduation time, the students seek me out to thank me for being there for them. So yes, definitely we are in more than one business.
I absolutely agree. As a Director of Education (Dean of Faculty and Students) I spend more than 50 percent of my time 'motivating' my instructors and my students. In particularly, I am continually encouraging my instructors to take ownership of their classroom and the success of their students and encouraging my students to take ownership of their education and by doing so, their future.
You are kidding, right? YES! We become their friends, advisors, molders and sometimes family. As one goes from their home out into the world, we are the closest thing to stability they have. If they are having trouble fitting in, we become their mental health worker. Someone to listen to them and sometimes giving them the best advise we know how. We create a tight bond of trust with students and we are the ones they will seek advice from and there is no way to direct them to someone else. This is without a doubt true.
Yes, we are in more than one business. As a teacher my first business is educating my students. My second business is the retention of my students. This requires skills in customer service as well as an understanding of a person's psychological make-up. What are their beliefs, habits, cultural behaviors etc.
I agree to some extent, sometimes we can become help to our students and finding out what the problem is which may have an effect on the education but at times it is out of our hands.
I agree because, as educators we have to deal with many different personalities so if we are not mentally equipped, it will be very difficult for us educators to communicate and deal with so many diverse group of people.
Education and mentoring go hand-in-hand! We all wear different hats throughout every day when interacting with students.
The reality is, yes, we are. Students need the right mentoring to overcome many obstacles on their way to success. Knowing the mental make-up each student supports our need to be qualified as Mental Health Workers.
Thank you Dr. Pace. I appreciate the complement.
Excellent response Lou. I can see that you have a good grasp on this whole mental health piece. Thanks for your clarity.
Joe
agree. I was hired as a Instuctor.It has become more than discussing tires,and oil. But there is satisfation when you can help a student and direct them to there goals.
Yes, I believe professors in the business of education also serve as "mental health" personnel. However, as stated by Dr. Pace (Dec. 21), they should do so in the roles of the 3 M's as life skill and socialization role models, rather than 'true' mental health specialists. It is important for professors to recognize their limitations and not cross the theraputic line with their students. When I say not cross the theraputic line, I don't necessarily mean because they are not skilled in that area, but because it can make it difficult for the professor/student relationship from that moment on. Knowing personal details about a student, especially those that tug upon heart stings or step on a nerve, can skew the way a professor may treat the student or cause the student to feel singled out by the professor. That said, it is also important for a professor to notice and check upon inconsistent behaviors of their students that they may make recommendations for the student to speak with a counselor or other individual skilled in the student's area of need. This can often be difficult to accomplish without prying too much into the student's need. A professor has to have a caring and an intelligent heart!
David,
Good Point. Simplying teaching our subject matter is not enough. We also need to mentor the way of life for them to be successful.
