Magic Wand...If only..

If I had a magic wand and could change one thing that would make a huge difference at my institution, it would have to be the budget.  We need a fully functioning Financial Aid staff, Registrar’s office and Admission’s office. We are so understaffed that everyone is working long hours and burning out soon after the semester starts. I believe if I could “poof” that into being, everything would run so much smoother for our students as well as those who work so hard every day to help them be successful.  

As budgets for education are slashed across the nation I’m sure that everyone is feeling the effects, we can only hope that this changes for the better soon.   

WEEK 9 Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is to help new college students learn to set goals and reap the rewards of educational success and see it as a personal challenge worth working for and to help them see the real and endless possibilities that they can achieve by earning a college degree.  It is for first semester, new college students.

Time Required:  45-60 minutes

Content Standards:

Students will complete school with the academic rigor and preparation essential to choose from a wide range of substantial employment options, as well as transferring to a four year university.

Indicators (Students will…):

Establish challenging academic goals in college.

GOAL:   Students will set short- and long-term goals for their first year.

Activity Statements:

                Students will review the guidelines for setting personal and academic goals.

Materials:

1.            Handout A – “College 101 Goal-Setting Worksheet”

2.            Pen/pencil
3.            Planner that comes with the students College 101 textbook

Procedures:

1.            Give each student a Goal Setting Worksheet.

2.            Go over the guidelines at the top of the list for writing good goals and give students a few
               minutes to set personal and academic goals.  15 minutes

3.            Divide students into small groups and have them share goals with each other.  10 minutes

4.            Use some of the questions below to encourage a discussion on the importance of setting
               long- and short-term goals.  10 minutes

5.            Ask students to share with the large group goals that they all agreed were important.
               20 minutes + or -

6.            Following this process, suggest that each student write two short-term goals (8-weeks
               mid-term) and one long-term (semester) goal in the planner that comes with their College
               101 textbook. (This is to be discussed one on one with their student success counselor in
               their next session as an opportunity for follow up)

Follow-up: see above

Discussion: 

1.            Why is it important to set goals?

2.            Does setting goals help you? How?

3.            How does it feel when you achieve a goal?

4.            Is it hard to think of goals that you would like to achieve?

5.            What strategies might you use to meet your goal?

6.            What obstacles might you have to overcome in order to meet your goal?

7.            What do you think you might need from your classmates, peer coaches, or counselor to help

               you reach your goal?

Contingency Plan:

 It is nearly impossible for this to fail as a guidance plan, it may be hard with a small class size but I have always found it to be a successful way to teach goal setting and is a great Icebreaker during the first week of classes in a semester.  

I like this Idea!!

Another article that I found to be interesting!! The middle schools and high schools that seem to be  doing it right teach in blocks.  They teach in blocks in Medical School. Why wouldn't it make sense in Community and Technical School?? I like this concept!

http://chronicle.com/article/Community-Colleges-for-the/135090/

 It all started with a bushel of left over apples from the apple butter weekend

 Then, the cranberries were on sale at the farmers market, we hatched a plan....

 What could be better in the fall than 14 quarts of Apple Cranberry Chutney???

The finished product made 28 pints, I think the turkeys will be lined up outside the door begging us to roast them with this stuff on the side!!

Then it was time to shear the pygora herd and trim their hooves!! They were not amused but it had to be done if we are going to have time to get those Christmas scarves knitted!! We shaved Dumbledore last as he's our billy goat and just happens to be in full rut....We smelled Awesome!!!

Counseling Skills Reflection

• Based on your feedback from Tape 1 are you where you thought you were?

I believe that I am perhaps a little farther along than where I thought I was but am still no where near to being a Carl Rogers. I think that multimodal, solution focused and REBT are at least in my arsenal of techniques that I can somewhat comfortably apply in a session and help the client with a given problem or concern.

• What are some things you would like to continue to work on?

  I continue to struggle with being comfortable when I know that I am taping and have found that if I get the session going and then hit the record button that I am less stressed. I continue to work on all aspects of my counseling but feel that I need to still be aware of how much I'm talking and how much I'm listening. I also try to focus on listening to myself and always trying to ask myself if what I'm saying to the client is relevant and useful. I need to work on my reflective skills or rather I need to be more reflective at least on the tapes I listen to, you cannot see body language and physical attending on a tape, so that I'm sitting with both feet on the floor, leaning in toward the client and making eye contact are not reflected on a tape, I'm aware that perhaps some verbalization is in order as well.    

• How will you make sure you continue to improve?

I will continue to tape sessions and revisit them when I have time to really listen and stop the tape and write down what I might have said instead and the reasoning behind it.  I also go back to my text books and supplemental handouts given to me throughout my degree program and continuously serf the web for scholarly articles and information pertinent to a specific clients case that help me be a better counselor. I also have meetings with colleagues to discuss the clients that I am counseling to get feedback and different viewpoints.       

• How will you know once you’ve improved?

I believe like anything one sets out to accomplish, I will be aware when I am comfortable with specific techniques and with experience with various scenarios I will feel more accomplished. Listening to the taped sessions will let me know I have improved as well as feedback from my clients and colleagues.   

• What can we do in class to help with your goals?

I believe the class helps me see that everyone wants to continually grow and also that we are all growing together, some have much more experience and hearing their cases and getting constructive feedback are  also very helpful. Having the blogs to stay in contact after the class is over is another very useful tool that I think will be invaluable as we continue to work in our communities. Having the questions after presenting my case study last night were also very helpful and hearing others case studies is helpful as well.

The Movie

I would have to say that the movie Take the Lead is one of my favorite.  Dancing Classrooms, the program made famous in the documentary ”Mad Hot Ballroom” and the Antonio Banderas flick “Take the Lead”, both about the true story of a man named Pierre Dulaine. Neither is a film that’s just about teaching dance steps, they are about teaching much more than moving your feet.  For the past several decades there has been a drive to come up with educational methods to help young people obtain the skills that they need to grow up to be successful  adults. The Montessori Method, Waldorf Education and the Suzuki method are three of the most thorough, and effective, of those efforts. What makes these methods so successful is that they combine a clear and compelling philosophe, a systematic training for individuals who will instruct the children, a program design that fundamentally corresponds with the developmental needs of the children to be trained, and the ability to imitate the program on a large scale.

1.            The Montessori method, with a philosophy grounded in guiding a child's inner self to perfection, is completely focused on the emerging developmental needs of the child informing the Teacher about when to introduce certain learning experiences.

2.            Waldorf education is based on a holistic view of human development, providing a detailed, artistic curriculum that responds to and enhances the child's developmental phases, from early childhood through high school, enhancing academic learning through music, movement and art.

3.            The Suzuki method functions similarly: with a philosophical goal of bringing beauty to the spirit of the young child, it builds on the essential developmental drive within young children for language acquisition.

Dancing classrooms shares elements of these educational philosophies, combining a clear and compelling philosophy with a rigorous and systematic adult training model that dramatically coincides with the developmental need within 10-11 year old children to reinforce their social skills just prior to the onset of puberty. And Dancing Classrooms is now being replicated throughout the US and Canada with requests from several other international sites. As with the Montessori and Suzuki programs, at the heart of Dancing Classrooms is a method – the Dulaine Method.

 From Wikipedia:

The Dulaine Method philosophy

Respect & Compassion: At the very core of the Dulaine Method philosophy is the essential respect that goes into being a Lady and being a Gentleman. Dancing Classrooms is a program that demands that the children not only treat others with respect but also encourages the children to respect themselves.

Coupled with respect is compassion. Perhaps it is Pierre's own childhood that predisposes him to walk into a classroom full of children who struggle to believe in themselves, open his arms and heart to them, and then guide them gently along a journey that leads these young people to joy and accomplishment.

Respect and compassion are the foundational elements of the Dulaine Method. Unfortunately, very few adults know how to genuinely treat children with respect. And even fewer adults seem to remember what it was like being a child.

Being Present: Probably the most difficult skill for any teacher to learn is the ability to be completely in the moment when they are teaching. Children in particular are extremely aware of when the adult in charge (parent, teacher, coach) is not really there; and when a child senses that distance, woe be unto that adult. Pierre’s ability to "be here now" enables him to observe every subtle nuance of student, and group, behavior. He can see when a child is nervous, not paying attention, when the group is becoming antsy and he can respond to those issues immediately, thus keeping the classroom experience flowing. Being present also allows Pierre to express his own positive emotions towards the children at precisely the moment the children need that affirmation.

Creating a Safe Place:  Asking children to take the extraordinary risk of embarrassing themselves in front of their peers is precisely what Dancing Classrooms does. And the only reason that the children are willing to take this risk is because Pierre has perfected a way to make that experience safe. A Dancing Classrooms class is a place in which everyone is equal: the students, the Teaching Artist, and the elementary school staff that are participating. In modern jargon we call this creating a therapeutic milieu, an environment so different from these children's normal daily environment that simply being in that room and being part of that collective group experience changes that child.

Command & Control: Clearly, if you are going to move 25 children through twenty 45 minute classes and have them successfully learn seven dances, you need order and discipline. Pierre is in command of the class from the moment he begins until the moment the children leave the room. An essential part of the Dulaine Method is developing the craft of managing the Group. When teachers are being taught how to work with children their training is invariably focused on individual child development. Rarely, if ever, are student teachers taught about group dynamics and how to manage a group of children.

Language: Body & Verbal Language, both body and verbal, are the great connectors in Dancing Classrooms. Pierre's entire physical affect is one of openness, warmth, and genuine affection for the children. His verbal repertoire is a consistent barrage of positive comments. There is no denying that when Pierre combines his body and verbal language he is a force the children simply cannot resist.

Humor & Joy: Dulaine has been commended for bringing humor to the classroom. Gentle humor can help a shy child become less self-conscious; humor with that same child handled poorly can make him retreat and never come back out. He is playful, he is present, and the children can sense that he is just plain happy to be with them. He also has this little habit of playfully slapping the students at Dancing Classrooms with his tie.

Being in such a safe place, where the boundaries are clear, the teacher is fully present, where respect and compassion reign – these are the elements that bring joy into the lives of the Dancing Classrooms children. And, as one Teaching Artist states: Dancing Classrooms is not about teaching ballroom dancing. The dance is a tool for getting the children to break down social barriers, learn about honor and respect, treat others carefully, improve self-confidence, communicate and cooperate, and accept others even if they are different.  To learn more you can go here.

http://www.dancemagazine.com/issues/september-2009/Everyone-to-the-Dance-Floor

Another Movie I really like is Precious, This movie is hard to watch as it is very disturbing to see this girl treated so badly by her mother, the only place she has anyone who cares about her is at school, the ending is very good, but you have to sit through a ton of bad to get there. Have the tissues handy and watch this high school teacher change the way this young woman sees herself and the world around her.