We had a great evening last Wednesday at the ACL Mariners match. I enjoyed meeting fellow staff members’ partners and families as we extend our very own IFS family further.
My focus this week is communication. Without this key attribute, simple tasks are left incomplete, people overlooked or serious problems left unsolved. From a teacher’s perspective, I have reinforced to my mentor group the need to feel comfortable and confident enough to communicate with myself and each other.
It is very interesting to observe various behaviours when students are faced with a problem. Some will immediately come to ask for assistance before trying to solve the problem, some will attempt the problem numerous times and then come for help if unsuccessful and some will simply give up or just move on, hoping the issue will go unnoticed. Of course the ideal scenario would be for the student to really work out how to overcome the problem, break it down into more manageable chunks and then check if they have achieved the correct answer or outcome. I am slowly getting this message across to the students to make them the ‘independent learners’ we want them to be.
On an emotional level, communication can be the easiest way to solve difficulties. I’m a big fan of the old saying “a problem shared is a problem halved”.
Many teenagers bottle up emotions or problems until they are at boiling point when something often gives, leading to arguments or worse. Through simple communication many problems adolescents face can be resolved. I will personally keep working with my mentor group and every pupil at IFS to make them great ‘communicators’.
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