Understanding students
How do you get students to listen and understand and face their problems?
What problems are you referring to? Scholastic or personal?
The first thing that has to happen is the the student has to realize he/she has a problem. We can set them down and tell them until we are blue in the face that being tardy everyday is a problem, but you will never get that point across unless being late becomes a problem for the student. If the student does not understand the importance of being somewhere on time, then they will not listen, nor admit they have a problem. Only when an issue becomes important to the student will they listen and try to make corrections. (in this case, arrive to class on time) The question then should be, how do we make this important to the student.
Pain can be a powerful teacher and motivator. Working with students starts with helping them clarify the problem and identifying the true source of their pain - they are highly skilled at ignoring the real problem. The next step is getting them to identify solutions. The final step is providing encouragement and monitoring their progress.
Could you be more specific please, Wendi?
