Mentally scared
Sometimes you encounter a student that has a very bad back ground. They feel the whole worlds against them. How can you get that student to let their guard down enough to realize thats not the case in the short time we spend with them.
Hi Jeffery,
There is no simple answer to this question but in order to establish rapport with such a student there must be respect and trust. Try little ways of including the student and showing him/her that you respect them for who they are and what they are trying to accomplish. Give them some opportunities for success and you will see them slowly start to come around and develop the self-confidence needed for career development.
I have found that just by talking with them I can generally gain some insight on their situation and start to get them engaged in the class, even when I have them for only a few weeks.
Gary
I think that some of your response needs to be based on your understanding of the situation. In other words, what do you mean by a very bad background? Has the student been a victim of crime or abuse or has the person just been a victim of bad choices?
I often remind students who are victims of repeatedly making bad choices that by making this one good choice and staying in school they can change much of what has resulted from their prior choices. I tell them that once they graduate the transportation problems, poor child care problems, poor housing problems, being stuck with an abusive or neglectful spouse just because he pays some of the bills etc... can all be put into the past. Just by making one good decision every day and satying in school those problems which seem so daunting today will disappear.
For me I try to set these students at ease with stories that my relate to the situation thats troubling them letting them know that everyone has to start somewhere. Where as they may be anxious right now with a particular task but everyone has to "walk before they can run" type stories. Seems to lighten up the student pretty well.
Hi Valerie,
You made so many good points in your forum response. The key is to continually encourage these high risk learners. The one day at a time strategy is a good one since that is how progress is made. The small steps do lead to the destination and that is the creation of a future for themselves.
Gary
I find that in some cases the problem stems from me applying my standards and expectations to them. I need to step outside myself and see what they need. In many cases these students expect the teacher as an authority figure to be against them or "down on" them. It surprises them when you are willing to try to see things from their perspictive. I use an example in lecture I call "there's more than one road to Albuquerque." In essence it tries to get acrossthe point that there is more than onevalid and effective to reach a goal.
