Help me Help you!
Intervention does not have to be one-on-one interaction behind closed doors, it can be public display.
Create an Interactive bulletin board with common and not so common issues. Allow your population to help us help them. We are not and can not be the saviors of everyone but we can open the door to knowledge.
Create a monitored school blog where your students can discuss and find solutions to their issues.
Just a few ideas...
Great ideas, James. Our students understand and routinely use blogs. Why not take advantage of this and enlist their help by asking for their input on issues? Solutions suggested by peers frequently are taken more seriously than a prescriptive answer from us.
Is your school currently using blogs? If so, where does it fit organizationally?
SUPER idea! We have a bulletin board for ride shares and for things students might need--anything from selling wedding dresses to roommates, but I like the idea of a bulletin board that they could use by sections--electronic is even neater since they could post something anonymously.
Sometimes we have a student who will come into class having obviously been beaten. ALL the students get involved somehow. None of our students feel that anyone should have so little self worth as to submit to abuse. In that sense, it is sometimes difficult to keep a "private" issue from becoming a part of class discussion. In English class, we make something like that into an essay assignment so that the students can learn and express feelings at the same time. In other classes--legal, job prep, and job communications--these situations are handled only somewhat differently. Strange what may end up being a learning situation.
Anonymous postings can become a big problem. You don't want to be accused of censorship but you must have clear guidelines about what is posted. You probably want to have a staging area where the posting can be reviewed [and edited if appropriate] before it is seen by everyone else.
If you have a classroom discussion where a student acknowledges being beaten, do you have a legal responsibility to report that to the authorities? Is there a moral responsibility? How do you balance your roles?
Great idea! Some times student are more likely to express themselves in a blog than talking face to face with someone they do not know very well.
Patricia, do you have a blog for your students? How wide spread is this practice in your school?
Great idea! Our school already does a good job with the advertisement of available resources, however I think a blog would be a wonderful addition. Many times students are more than willing to help their peers if they know of a need. On that same note students are many times more comfortable receiving help from peers, especially if the help is offered. I find students have a greater since of satisfaction if they have help one another reach graduation.
Erica, what would be the next steps to establishing a blog for your campus? Who would be responsible for it?
