School Commitment
Does anyone have any good ideas for blostering school commitment? For example, there is a student that I am dealing with who is struggling with school, and I speak with this student frequently and do all I can do show my commitment to helping him through. At the same time I am hearing that an instructor is projecting a very negative attitude. How do I deal with the instructor's attitude toward this individual student, keeping in mind that not all people will get along?
Unfortunately, the situation you describe happens too often in our schools, Heather. One of the greatest management challenges is to manage negative attitude in the classroom.
The relationship between students and their instructors is one of the strongest determinants of retention. Obviously, the instructor is entitled to an opinion, but you are entitled to expect that the opinion will not affect his or her performance in the classroom.
It would be inappropriate to react to hearsay, but it would be appropriate to investigate, and document, the instructor's classroom behavior. In my experience, an instructor's negative attitude impacts everyone, not just the target of his/her scorn. You can't afford to have anyone poisoning the classroom and faculty room.
I think you may or may not be able to deal with another's attitudes. Its important to remember that no one has the ability to control another. Having said that, I believe you have to be assertive. Get permission grom the student to discuss things they may have told you, set a meeting with the Instructor, share your knowledge and describe your views regarding the student, ask for their feelings, make the instructor think about what they would want for the student, and try to enlist their ideas and aid in intervening with the student. Be careful not to put them on the defensive. The more new insight you can give, the more you can get someone else to think, and the more you can involve them in a helping process, the better.
Vertical and horizontal probing can help frame the issues for all parties. This technique also may lead people to see alternative solutions to the problem and lead to a positive outcome.
If it were me, I would follow the guidlines stated in the bible - first, try talking with the instructor privetly in a positive way. If that doesn't work, I would ask a fellow instructor to join me and talk with this person again. If that still doesn't work, I would go to administration and ask a chair or even the dean to talk with this instructor.
