School Guidance Plan presentations

Today we have started the expositions of our school guidance plan. We are going to do these presentations during four classes and I think that we are going to learn a lot of things about the others School guidance plans. Today has presented the group two and in my opinion they have done an excellent presentation.

How can we do a correct interview?

Today we have been seeing a video in which is reproduced an interview of parent-teacher. When the interview has finished, we have divided in groups to explain between us things that we have liked of the interview. Our group has said these:

-         talk in a familiar way

-         give the mother suggestions

-         talk about the aspect that concerns to the mother

-         agree to help you with your children needs

-         extra specific support

-         remark the good things and the improvement of the child

-         help with personal and academic issues

-         well development: first presentation, child development and finally some more support

Later, each group has to tell these points to all groups and other groups had points as:

-         good recievement

-         sit together, should with shoulder

-         real facts of the development of the child

-         involvement of the mother

-         work as a team: mother + teacher

Then, the whole class has had to say things that we haven’t liked of the interview. We have said things like:

-         not much support from the teacher, she gives a book to the mother but does not give any instructions to use it in the best way

-         is not well balanced, the teacher spend too many time with the positive things and few of them with things to improve, when the aim of the interview was to improve some things

We can say that the main points of a good interview are the next:

- Teacher has folders for each student

- Send home sheet asking parents have any question

- Know your objectives

- Prepare students for conference

- State points and time

- Summarize

- evaluate conference

 In addition, it is important that the teacher complied with the next requirements:

- Schedule

- Materials to show the parents what the students are doing at class: portfolio

- Confidentiality

- Maintain a file of communication: organization, dates, keep on talking…

- Nice place to talk with the parents

- Save the barriers, not to sit in front of the parents with a table in the middle

- Prepared: prepare the students, know what you are going to say, goals, timing…

- Take notes

- Make the parent feel free to ask questions

- Open the conference being positive, saying positive things about the child

- Describe the subject area

- Not use technical language

- Ask the parent how they feel

- Listen to parent

- Set mutual goals

- At the end, summarize what happened during the conference

- When the conference ends, the teacher would evaluate it: improvements, what was good, goals…

At the end of class, each group has said a assertiveness’ definition and then, all groups are put in common their definitions. Some of those definitions have been….

Assertiveness: a form of behavior characterized by a confident affirmation of a statement without need of proof; this affirms the person's point of view without aggressivity threatening the rights of another or submissively permitting another to ignore or deny one's rights or point of view.

In conclusion, today has been a very useful and practical class. We had the opportunity to know how we have to do interviews in perfect conditions and we have learnt what things we must avoid when we will be teachers.

Attention to diversity: Practical lesson

Today, we have had a meeting with Pilar Alonso, the Director of the department of Orientation and innovation of College Gaudem.

She told us about how Diversity is understood in this school, what her opinion about it is and how they work on it.

Gaudem School is a college which has the peculiarity is that they have many children with special needs or learning disorders.

Pilar gave us some steps that they follow to identify and deal with children that may need special attention.  First, the counselor should enter in the classroom in order to see the child in its own environment. Then, if needed, the counselor may have to take the kid out of the class in order to carry out some psycho-pedagogical tests. If we get to this stage, parents will have to be aware of the situation and medical assessment may be also needed.

In my opinion, it was a really interesting visit because we have had a contact with a real life and we could learn a lot of things to put in practice when I finished the University.

Working in School Guidance Plan

We have been working this session and the previous session in teams work to prepare our own School Guidance Plan. I have been putting in common our different opinions about what we would improve and I think it is a very useful activity for our future as teachers.