This week we learned about resources and how to refer students to a resource. I use resources all the time without thinking about them as a resource. I have learned to use different resource through mentors, advisers, and other students. This week we are given different situations and questions about the situations.
The situation I am choosing to blog about is the situation of Andrea and her grades.
Andrea has a couple of midterms due to an underlying factor, her friend had passed away in a car accident. I believe this situation is urgent because she needs someone to talk to and the accident is negatively affecting her academic performance. She is also probably experiencing some type of depression. Some questions I can ask to better understand could be when the accident happened and if she has talked to others about the accident. The main concern right now should not be her grades but her mental well being. A resource that I think would benefit her would be referring her to talk to Debra, Alli, or Abby. The Student Counseling Services may also benefit the student. The next concern is the midterm grades so I would give information to her about SI and tutoring services so she can get her grades up. I can explain to her that the reason I am referring her to others to talk is because I have not gone through what she is going through and others who are qualified will be able to help her better than I could. To build the students confidence about the resource I could give examples of times I had to ask for help or I could tell them about friends who have used the resource and thought it was useful. To follow-up on the students progress I would email a time to meet the student after she met with the people from the resources and I could meet with her after class to check in on her.
I liked having a blogging prompt this week because it allowed me to think of situations I might face next semester as a peer mentor.
Liz,
ReplyDeleteI also chose Andrea's situation for a blogging prompt. I think that it is great that you recognize that it is important to focus on her mental well being more than her grades which is what was originally addressed as the problem. I also liked that you pointed out that you are referring her to others because this is not something you have gone through. I think that's a great example of you recognizing what you do know about and what you don't and getting that student the help they need. Good post Liz!
Liz,
ReplyDeleteThis was a hard situation to address, but I think you did a good job with it. I agree that this student will need a couple of different resources. Referring her to Debra, Alli, or Abby would be a good choice, but I might hesitate on the Student Counseling Services. This is a good resource, but I feel like it has to be approached very carefully so as not to push the student away. However, that is something you would have to decide depending on how well you know the student. Great post!
Liz,
ReplyDeleteThe situation that you chose is something that no one wants to go through. I think that the way that you handled it was spot on. It is so easy for me to put grades first over everything else, and I loved how you just said that they are not the number one priority. I need to remind myself over and over, grades don't last forever! Thanks for the challenging blog to get my thoughts going on how I would handle that same situation!
Sam