I agree. The majority of our students are first time college students in their family. There are broken homes, unstable lifestyles, and numerous issues that students bring to class. "Baggage in a bookbag."
Gail,
Your students are typical for career colleges. I read that nearly 70 percent of career college students' parents had not gone to college. The report also indicated that 70 percent of traditional college freshmen are from homes where at least one parent went to college.
We are in the business of selling people on themselves. We as educators are there to help student believe in themselves when they can’t! Today’s education market requires that we sell the student on the school as well as ourselves and if we do a good job then we keep student in the class room. I know that most student loose the dream of higher education because they don’t always have the correct mindset coming into school. I believe we must work daily with the students that ask for help and try to recognize the ones that won’t ask for help.
We are in the business of education as I have been told. In order to keep the revenue, students must be engaged and retained. This is a different model from traditional education.
Oliver,
Faculty members are indeed sales people. Each day we need to give students reasons to "buy" the educational opportunities and services we are providing. Drop rates increase when we forget this.
Yes, but only to a certain degree. Some students have issues that only the "experts" should be consulted and therefore should be directed that way and not advised. For example, I don't consider myself qualified to counsel a student for in home domestic disputes. Students see the instructor sometimes as the out for them and begin to share the issues. I might give the wrong advise on that issue.
I would agree... anytime you are dealing with such things as vision, habits, attitudes, beliefs, expectations, you certainly are moving into an area that is quite personal to the individual and needs to be handled well.
Patricia,
Thank you for this post. What do you see as the HABEs that students most often need to develop to be a success?
In our training organization, it is clearly the habit of being prepared or not, that will drive their success. As there is much pre-reading and study prior to the class, it is necessary as adult learners that they understand they can not "wing-it" and must put in the time to prepare. Bad habits of lack of preparation in our classes can definitely relate to their success (or not) on the final exam.
As I mentioned before we are in the mental health business to certain degree. Sometimes the personal issues are of such "nature" we should only direct the student to the appropriate resource and not give them "personal" advise.
Take for example, a health issue they or a loved one may be having that is affecting their concentration in class. Inquiry as to the matter may violate privacy and escalate to a legal issue for the school.
Thanks, Larry.
Some career colleges have contracted with providers of counseling services for their students to help them address the types of issues we cannot typically address effectively.
Some career educators state that in addition to being in the education business, we are also in the "mental health" business. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
I firmly believe we are also in the "mental health" business. It's not uncommon for an instructor to attempt to help students put aside a personal struggle in order to move them toawrds learning. This is no easy task, as their personal struggle may be something more difficult than we've ever experienced.
In addition, we have students who come to school with HABEs that are very negative. They don't believe they'll pass Math, so time and again they fail. They don't believe they'll do well on exams, so time and again, they score poorly. We, as educators, need to help students realize the power of self-fulfilling prophecies and encourage them to reach their full potential (the full potential we know they have- not the lack of potential they think they have!)
We most certainly are in the "mental health" business and often, our students are better for it!
I fully agree that we are in more than one business....with education and mental health being just two of them. I work at a school with almost 600 students and 100 employees. I never know on a day to day basis what is going to happen here. You have to roll with the punches and do your best to provide customer service to everyone. We are here to provide an educational experience, but our students are people too (not just students). They have lives outside of school that sometimes interefere with their education. It is our job to help them balance their lives and thier educations...by whatever means possible.
Sarah,
You make an excellent point here. One of our most important responsibilities is to help our students find balance. We should always understand that many of our students are also parents, spouse and employees while they are in school. We have to help them find ways to meet all their responsibilities.
That being said, we should never pass a student who does not deserve to pass nor graduate a student that has not mastered the requisite objectives. We do have to find creative and supportive ways to get students to the right place while staying within policy and regulatory requirements.
We are consulers at times you need to read the students as they come into your class to see their mind state
Yes...we are in the mental health business as well. As instructors, we often encounter students who are balancing school, family, and job. Therefore, stress can be a reality and helping them cope with everyday life stressors can be quite helpful to them. It is a good practice for instructors to know something personalble about their students. This will also let the students know that the instructor cares about them as a person as well.
Earl. What are the keys to helping students balance all of their responsibilities and still do well in school?
I agree! The act of learning is impacted by the students' state of mind. There is a wealth of information available on learning styles and typifiers, and I do deliver a test on learning style to my students as well. Helping students understand how they learn best as an individual gives them a clear understanding of how to use tools and techniques that are best for them in managing their education. However, one step above this is mental health. If I have decided I am capable, then I will be. If I have been told I will never amount to anything, or have been degraded somehow in life, perhaps by emotional abuse, I may not have the mental capacity or strength to allow myself to learn. In cases like this if the student can seek counseling before starting school they may see much better scores which in turn will boost their self-esteem and persistence. Sometimes too it takes the right person at the right time to be there for the student and push them in the right direction, to mentor them to provide resources and offer help which is both appropriate as well as helpful while still staying within the guidelines of school policy.
Thanks, Cheryl. There is a saying that goes something like "The teacher will appear when the student is ready." By doing the things you describe above, your school can increase the odds that the right person will be there when the student is ready.
