Classroom Experiences
Help others gain a better sense of what the classroom experience is really like. Please post your comments here.
We are getting the message to students that what they do in school counts and will provide them more opportunity in life.
4 Comments:
Hey LaTara,
Great idea to set up this Blog. For me, an important thing to remember when entering the classroom is to show RESPECT to these young people.
They seem to know they are in that weird kid-adult transistion. I tend to highlight the latter by stating early in my talk that they are finally getting to make decisions in their own lives, congratulations. "Make good choices now that you finally have control."
I think I tend to get a respectful reaction from students because I begin by giving respect to them ... then I go on to show I'm human and share some personal stories. That goes a long way toward gettign an honest dialogue started.
Hi Readers, this is my first participation with Achievement Counts, however I can share my experiences with kids from my past presentations. I like to look at the connection between us as adults and the kids as a bridging of a gap between us the ones to have achieved and them the confused. I can see it in their eyes and I can hear it in their comments that any presentation needs to have that gap covered to gain respect and credibility in anything I would say. I always want to present myself as "like one of them" but only careered and accomplished. Showing professionalism to me would not be to dress too stiffy and talk too polished. That to me would mean intimidation...or something they can't relate yet. I bring up my upbringing, a little of my struggles and how over time I got direction and matured. I help them to see that I was and still one of them, just being human with a new sense of responsibility and maturity. When this bridge is established, I usually have no problems with curiosity and productive comments...usually in the form of laughter and alot of questions. I believe part of my presentations in the past circled around happiness and believing in the dream. Dream selling brings sparkle in anyones eyes, and I see it when I remind them that life is tough, but dreams are wonderful when you have a goal to achieve them.
Did my first pitch a couple weeks ago and have my second one tomorrow. Had a great time.
Someone at training suggested bringing penny candy/chocolates and toss out to kids who provide responses. Big hit! Tried to keep it light hearted, a little humorous which was great. I started off with an overhead with my 8th and 9th grade picture on it. The acne has been replaced by grey hair, but oh well. I'm a big fan of Zig Ziglar and used some of his style.
All comments came back great except one girl who responded to the "What will you change?" said "Nothing. I'm already getting strait 'A's and am involved in lots of extracurricular activities." I'm sure she'll go somewhere!
Greetings All,
My classroom experiences have been wonderful. I love the interaction with the teens and allowing them to get comfortable with me as we communicate during my presentation. My suggestion to other speakers is to (1) take a bottle of water -especially if you have more than one presentation in a day (2) use color paper for the handout sheets (3) check the school's website or go to the school early enough to review any literature on the school's career focus paths for students. This will be a good point to mention in your presentation what the school offers or ask the students if they know what the school offers. If any student shares they wish to pursue a career in one of the school's offered career paths let them know they have the priviledge to work towards that career within their school(4) try to call the students by name -works better in smaller class settings after they introduced themselves I would call them by their name when they had further comments to make them feel important as well (5) Have responses in mind for negative comments-try to be prepared as much as possible to combat negativity and last but not least (6) Have fun while you're presenting and enjoy! Keep in mind we're making a difference to many lives whether we touch the heart and mind of just 1 student per class. We still have made a difference.
Kind Regards,
Venecia White
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