UNDERSTANDING AND HELPING YOUR STUDENT
From a young person’s formative years and throughout their schooling, educators perform a fundamental role in shaping their lives. Yet as traditional institutions of family and community and social norms and values change, teachers are expected to assume an increasingly complex and demanding task – one they are often ill-equipped for. In addition teachers may have personal and professional issues, which further compound their difficulties. Topics covered:
Reflections on your profession
- Your motivation for teaching?
- Teachers’ profiles:
job security = largely ineffectual personal issues = crippled idealistic = unrealistic / burnout people-caring-person = effective
A teacher’s influence
- Exercise: Your least and most favourite teacher – which are you?
- Arthur’s experience of ‘good and bad’ teachers
Demands and expectations on teachers
- The ‘missing father syndrome’
- ‘Surrogate parents’
Dealing with the ‘hard’ cases
- ‘Good’ kids v. ‘bad’ kids
- Stories of youth who drop out of school and into trouble, and why
Young people’s needs
- Role models, mentors, heroes
- Life-giving relationships, moral absolutes, life values/skills, resilience
- To love themselves and feel precious
- The ‘4-Legged Stool’ – physical-mental-emotional-spiritual self-care
- How do you rate as a life educator/role model?
Re-assessing your motivation
- Teaching – a ‘higher calling’ not just a career; the ‘education of life’
- What can you do to improve yourself as a teacher?
- Lead by example – being the best person/teacher that you can be
Young people’s needs
- Role models, mentors, heroes
- Life-giving relationships, moral absolutes, life values/skills, resilience
- To love themselves and feel precious
- The ‘4-Legged Stool’ – physical-mental-emotional-spiritual self-care
- How do you rate as a life educator/role model?
Timeframe: 60-90 minutes – including open discussion and question time
Suitability: Staff conferences / retreats / functions, on-campus training, etc.