A richer semester ~ with Nagash Clarke~
Asking for Help
A student came into my office stressed out because he felt uncomfortable in his math class. He declared that he was going to “bomb” the test. Of course being a chemistry teacher I didn’t have much to offer him by way of help. However, I told him to march himself down the hall to his math teacher. He said he didn’t want to pester his teacher or for him to think he is stupid. I told him to go anyway. He reluctantly went. Sometime later he came back and said he felt better. I told him to go see his teacher every week. Why is it so hard for students to ask for help?
- Is it a generational thing? Do they feel like we can’t relate to, nor care about them?
- Are we teachers so unapproachable? Do we make students feel that they are less if they don’t immediately grasp the material?
- Is it a guy thing? Don’t admit vulnerability ever?
- Is it an American thing? This notion of self-sufficiency without interdependence.
I don’t know. But I see it all too frequently. Students would rather fail than ask for assistance. I approach students who are not doing well, but how do we instill in students that they don’t need to wait for an invitation? Some things that I find that help students not see me as an ogre include:
- Bringing food to lecture and having a hang-time without covering content.
- Holding class outside in pleasant weather.
- Doing skits in class that reinforce content.
- Playing music in class that they listen to. (i.e., Justin Beiber!)
- Eating lunch in the student center and allowing students stop by and chat.
- Going to student-centered events.
- Allow them to use technology in class like i-pads, smart phones to look up information.
- Inviting students personally to office hours to chat. (before they start to fizzle in the class)
- Praising them when they do well.
In an ideal college setting students would be motivated, determined and would seek out help if they need it. However no college is ideal. As teachers we have to be improv artists. We have to keep trying to figure out what works. And that sometimes means stepping out of our comfort zones.
Nagash Clarke
Chemistry Department
Washtenaw Community College