Lack of Communicative Skills
I find that the most important problem involving post-secondary career schools such as ours is the very poor verbal and written communicative skills of our students. The great majority of our students graduated near or below the median percentage of their class; most barely made sufficient progress to graduate. The first difficulty I have to overcome is to make them realize just how important correct grammar, verbage and sentence structure are to their ability to be hired and to progress in their technical field. I am pursuing a curricula change proposal to include basic technical report writing skills and verbal presentation (as to a client) as an initial approach to solving this problem.
Some people just need a chance to come out of their shell Not everyone is the moet gifted student but they all have a desire to be better. It is our job to be the link they need to succeed even if they have a learning problem we need to do all we can to help.
You bring up a good point and I have seen many students with poor verbal and written skills.
As a result it causes you to be more creative when it comes to assessing their abilities. At the same time you feel limited in the options you have to evaluate them.
James I agree. If there is a will there is way, A quote like to use is " A MIND THAT HAS BEEN STRECHED WILL NEVER RETURN TO ITS ORIGINAL SHAPE. And really belive that
This strikes a chord. I come from a field that is technical in nature and hands on (motorcycle mechanics.) Many students are attracted to my field because it looks exciting working for race teams and to tune on what they love riding. Only a few are able to do a team environment and less than that are capable of performing long term. Track support is brutal on your personal life and very stressful. The truth is, without basic reading, writing and math skills they will be severely limited in their professional growth as even a basic technician.
As an example, I had an employee in road race track support who had (maybe) a 3rd grade reading/writing level and had trouble with single diget division and multiplication. I was supposed to train him for the job which involved algebraic application for tuning and verbal/written communication with race teams and customers. He was unable to do the fundamentals of the job. He tended to act in a way that was base enough to put off a majority of our customers and dressed like someone that lives in the rough parts of Compton. I was required to work with him for 2 years, so, I took a personal interest in his growth and getting out of a stereotypical gangster life. In the end he was not interested in continuing education and therefore unable to fill the position. He, to this day, is in the same situation. He did start his own business in the same field, but is barely making enough to survive on. This may be an extreme example, but basic reading, writing, math and interpersonal skills are very important to most job environments and will help for the rest of your life. Not having them will hinder you for the rest of your life.
An additional pronblem to the communication issue is if English is their second language. This is compounded by your geographic location, in South florida where I work there are alot of people from the Latin America, the Caribbean as well as from other parts of the world, tha allthough very bright individuals suffer in not being able to communicate since English is not their first languague.
This is an issue we are seeing more often, Michelle. How do you handle it in your classes?
I agree. There's a tremendous amount of indirect learning that takes place as soon as a student enters your classroom - the instructor is a model in everyway...from preparedness, professional dress & manner, structure, positive attitude and language. Students want to be successfull and you are providing a way to accomlish that goal
I agree. With texting and other media changing the written word I often have students struggle with correct spelling. I am a coding instructor, but they still need to communicate correctly in their job.
Hi Patricia- Thanks for your post to the forum.
Although it can be a tough sell, we do need to make sure that our students can effectively communicate. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
