Follow up
Sometimes we send a student to get help and the help is not there. There can be many reasons for this including the students own demeanor (attitude). The point here is that the student may come back to class and complain quietly to his friends or not say anything at all. We need to follow up with every student that we send for help to make sure they did indeed get the help they asked for. By following up, we show the students that did get help that we give a hoot and the students that did not get help we can escort to the person they need to see and get the ball rolling.
I never considered that a student would not actually seek out help. We get busy and assume that they are getting the help that they need. Knowing that our instructors are following up with the students is very comforting. I would neve know if a student was sent to me for counseling unless they actually show up and the instructor gives me a heads up.
some times it's not the student, and the staff falls short on there end. thats why we need to follow up with the student so if the staff does fall short , we can address it, in a propt manner.
Last course I had a student that was given a pull slip to meet someone from the front office. When the student returned he told me that the person he was supposed to meet would not be in until later. Needless to say the student was very upset so I escorted the student to that department and got the situation settled. I believe that that made a huge impact on not only the student that was involved but the entire class when they saw that I cared enough to step in.
I agree. In a school that has some kind of student service we will send student there and never follow up so see if they went or if students services was able to help them
I agree, many times students dont get to the right contact person and simply return to class without a word.
An isue we have is that the schedule when student services is available is not clear and consistant. The students seem to have a "hit or miss" aditude tward the department. They get disscouraged in going because they feel they will just be waisting their time by even trying.
we can only suggest that a student seek help it is entirely up to them. if the student is open for help then we can interact with them and try to help resolve their issues,somtimes drawing the line between instructor and parent is paramount to teach the student resposability for themselfs . (tough love)
Make sure that I talk to the person prior to sending my student to, so they will understand what the issues are so they will know how to handle the issues.
Do you commit any of the details to the student's file so that other instructors and support staff will have your experience to draw from?
Intervention can only work if your whole company is on the same page about the matter at hand. Just like mama said. If you don't tell me where it hurts, I can't kiss it and make it better. Communication is a two way street. You need to listen and watch for key things as well as be heard.
When a student ask for any kind of help it is very easy to say go see so and so in such a department, however ask yourself is that right. I beleive that it is much better if we actually take the student to the person and introduce them. After sometime follow up with both the student and the other party to see if the issue was resolved. Both parties invloved will see that you really do care and are trying to help.
A very positive approach, Jesus, and one that is very effective. Do you have the ability to document that action and then see notes from your colleague about the action taken?
I always follow up my students. I think, if they find you concerning yourself with their problems, they are less likely to leave. This creates a feeling of family and as we all know we like to feel secure.
