How do you help the eager student before he burns-out?
This a problem that I've seen alot, the students that wants to know everything and want's to help on everything. How do you tell the student to be patient and not discourage them?
I suppose this is one of the better problems to have. Having a conversation with such a student to understand their motivation and objectives would be a place to start. At that time you can suggest that they focus their energy and concentrate on developing specific skills. You can also talk about the academic demands ahead and help them plan how they will balance the work load.
How are you handling the situation now?
I think it is good to let them know about some of the obstacles they will meet later on while they are eager. In this was they can have a positive perspective in mind when they do meet the obstacles.
I think that letting students know that they will face some obstacles along the way is important. Whether the obstacles are academic, financial, homesick or whatever; the students will still need to face them and overcome them in order to succeed.
... and they need to know that support is available and how to access it.
I have found that challenging the student works great. I work at a technical college so challenging a student with more advanced techniques is always an option. You never set them up for failure but you don't make it too easy either. Not only does it keep them busy but when they complete the task their self confidence has been raised up a notch or two.
Do you have the latitude to modify assignments to match individual student's skill set? If so, how often does this happen?
I have found that many times when a person is like this that they are running from something else. To focus on something other than a severe problem that they are having they pour, if you will, themselves into something else as a destration, so I pose this, could this be the problem and if so, how do you deal with it?
i feel that if a student is that eager, I give them extra assignments and discuss that it is not a necessary assigment but it will advance them in the future. I also explain the importance of getting a massage table in the early stages of the program and I show that them that they can purchase a new table for a cheap price and they can sell the table when they get a new table from the program. the best teaching of the massage field is giving and receiving massages. as long as the student knows the fundamentals of correct body mechanics, they can start massaging on their own time. i also show the differnce between working for yourself verse working for someone else. Once they see the financial gain of working for yourself that is a wonderful motivational tool for keeping their interest.
