The fair also gave me the opportunity to spend a day at another IEP; here are some of the things I noticed....
A framed poster on the wall of the Five Golden Rules, Help us help you improve your English. A picture would be nice, but I'll try to remember:
- Speak English at the Institute - you've come a long way to practice, so do it!
- Attend Class regularly (then something about that)
- Do you homework (extend your learning)
- etc etc
Also, on every classroom door there's a sign that says "English only...it's why you're here" and another that says "15 minutes late? Wait for the break."
The classrooms are tiny (half the size of 101) equipped with small (3'x5') whiteboards and floor fans to try to get some ventilation. There are two small student lounges. One at the front has an old couch and a bench, but there's a well-worn guitar on the couch. What fun! In the back, there's an equally funky couch and a big pool table and an old piano. I love the spontaneous music options.
One other thing ~ their Student Services Director is unofficially called Director of Happiness. To be honest, he sort of cringed when introduced thusly, but it does describe the task!
Whether you are visiting IEPs or walking by middle schools or dropping kids off at camp, you're probably seeing lots of little things that relate to our work at SAL. Add a post, so we'll know!
Karen
6 comments:
I think the chart of 5 Golden Rules is an excellent idea! We should definitely make one of those.
I always feel that we would be able to provide better student services if we had a "Student Service Coordinator," one which is similar to the Director of Happiness at Intrax. Granted, we are an academic program, but students have problems and difficulties in their daily life -health insurance questions, transportation problems, drivers license and social security number questions etc. Having been an international student myself, I feel the students need someone to turn to. Another function for the Director of Happiness is to organize after-school activities for the students - movies, sports games, or even clubs.
Julie
SAL has so many services it would be hard to have one person handle them. The Academic Advisors, Ann and Kristin and Cassie, are a big part of our service. Then so are the Immigration Advisors, Simin and Laura. Sunny is the leader of the Student Activities such as Conversation Club, Trivia Quiz, and holiday celebrations. Lenore holds the title of Student Services Coordinator as she manages the team that helps with insurance and housing, welcomes and farewells.
It does seem that most of our students go to their teachers or fellow students with daily life complications. That may be because of our physical separation or because they feel more comfortable with the teachers and friends.
Maybe instead of the 5 Golden Rules we could do a "pledge" and have the students say it and sign it at ACCESS or the first day of classes in OC. Then we can post it around. For example, "I pledge to speak English, do my homework, be on time to class, ask lots of questions, make many new friends from other countries, etc.." We could make it a fun, kind of silly thing, but it may help it stick in their minds if they have "pledged" to follow these guidelines. Having it posted around the building would be the reminder.
Laura (Casellas)
This may be really goofy, but we could have a SAL song! Like a cheer. I once did this professional development program (for adults) in SF. There were various centers for this program and a friendly rivalry between them. The SF center came up with a group to rally the troops and get everyone excited: AIN'T NO CENTER LIKE THE SAN FRAN CENTER 'CAUSE THE SAN FRAN CENTER JUST ROCKS! WHAT? and we'd repeat it even louder. It really got the blood pumping and created a tighter community. Silly, but fun! (And of course, there were grammatical errors in this cheer... =)
I think a song is a great idea. Just re-doing lyrics to a standard would be fun and easy. Any ideas?
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