Disability limitations and job realities
WE SOMETIMES HAVE STUDENTS WHO COME THROUGH OUR CLASSES WITH DISABILITIES THAT WOULD PREVENT THEM FROM EARNING A LIVING IN OUR FIELD. WE DO OUR BEST TO TREAT THEM AS WE WOULD ANY OTHER STUDENT IN THE COURSE, SHOULD WE STILL ENCOURAGE THESE STUDENTS, OR SHOULD WE BE HONEST AND COACH THEM MORE TOWARDS TREATING THE COURSES AS HOBBIES
Hi Robert,
The question that has to be ask of all students can they develop the expertise and skills needed to be successful in their chosen career field? It is unreasonable to move a student through the course when they will not be able to perform at the level required of business and industry.
The other side is that students with disabilities should be given the chance to see if they in fact can do the work that is required.
Gary
we do everything possible to help the students
doze any one realy have traing to help the disable?
Hi Ronald,
There are many different instructional supports that career college instructors can use to help students with disabilities succeed. These include structured outlines, graphic organizers, and learning scaffolds. None of these take any extra time on the part of the instructor once they are prepared and they help those students with learning disabilities to focus in on the key concepts needed for the course.
Gary
I notice the same thing. I ofter wonder if we are possibly setting them up for failure of future disappointment by helping them too much.
After being in a specific career field for a number of years, I feel I usually have a pretty good grasp of what's expected in the workplace professionally and socially - perhaps unfairly at times - and I sometimes feel it's unmorally unacceptable to falsely encourage a student to spend more time and money when I feel pretty confident in knowing will have a hard time finding employment or being accepted in the field. Do you just ignore those feelings and look at the school as a business that needs to make money or give that student a clue that maybe they should choose a different field?
Hi Patricia,
If you as the instructor feel that after giving a student all of the instructional supports that you can and that you have measured their success or lack thereof to the best of your professional ability I believe that you owe it both to the student and yourself to work with the student services office concerning some career counseling for that student. To keep the student in the career area just to keep an enrollment is wrong on every level. The student will be disappointed, the school will be viewed as having failed and you the instructor will be help responsible for not doing the best you can for that student. None of the above is true, but it will be the perception. It is better to encourage the student to select another career area for which they have more aptitude and ability. There are a number of very good career identification/aptitude assessments that are available to help the student. Career Connections is an excellent assessment for such a student. Make sure to always keep your student services office/admissions office informed about what you are planning and make sure that you are following school policy on any recommendations you might make.
Gary
You need to tell the students up front what the current status of the market is. I would not discourage the student from this career path, eventually it will return to normal, what I would do is explain to the student other choices to make. Currently the diesel field is wide open, the automotive field still needs entry techs due to the attrition rate. The school is a business that is true and it is our job to keep them enrolled, it is also our job to train them to the best of their abilities to enter the market when and where it is possible.
I have seen many people with disablilites in the automotive field...it really depends on just how much drive the student has about the field of choice and not to let anything get in his/her way as far as the disability.Once we have doubt about the student that doubt will also come across to discourage the student and who are we to say if a student with a disability can or can not accomplish the goals they set for themselves....I say go for it.
I think the key here is to let them try. Sometimes people with what we conceive as having a disability shock us when they outperform their able bodied collogues. We do, however, have to grade them honestly and not just push them through with minimum passing grades just because we believe we are going to shatter their dreams, or fail meeting some quota. Most students with disabilities would rather us be up front with them and not give them false hope. Most of the time they already know their limitations and if left to continue, leave with a bad taste in their mouths, mostly because the school was never honest with them and did not tell them there were other options.
