Commitment to Students & Student Learning

Last week myself and other Niagara University students had the opportunity to engage in many different informational hands-on seminars. The standard that I will be relating this experience to is Standard 1: Commitment to Students and Student Learning: Members are dedicated in their care and commitment to students. They treat students equitably and with respect and are sensitive to factors that influence individual student learning. Members facilitate the development of students as contributing citizens of Canadian society. 

The first workshop that stood out to me was one led by registered social worker Gail Lalonde which was about mental health and school mental health programs. I really enjoyed this session as it outlined the programs and resources that are in place for students when it comes to mental health. Gail Ladlonde provided an excellent presentation and touched on the fact that most mental health conditions are not visible. Gail also explained that people with mental health challenges should not be treated differently as their mental health challenges do not define them. Through the presentation, I also learned that the ministry of health works in conjunction with the ministry of education. Along with that we were taught that every school board has their own mental health leader in their school which I was not aware of before this presentation. The learning was meaningful as Gail spoke about her own experiences in the field and related her own personal opinions on mental health with the information that she shared. Overall the session was very informative and meaningful. In my future placement I would apply what I learned about all the services available within the school. I now know that there are mental health professionals within the board that I can refer to for resources for my own students. 

The other seminar that I observed was the workshop led by Pat Tari on parent teacher relationships. In this presentation we learned a few tips about what to say during interviews especially when talking about parent relationships and scenarios. We also learned from Pat the importance of building strong relationships especially early on in the school year. We learned that it is also important to keep notes about everything you chat with parents about especially if theirs conflict. Community building is key and remembering that it's not yo'ur school but the community's school. We also learned about the importance of making sunshine calls and calling parents to talk about their child's good behavior not only their bad behavior. All of these tools that Pat taught us are ones that I will for sure take into my professional practice. 

Overall, the seminars that we attended were very informative and taught me many tools that I will be taking with me into my professional practice. 

Courtesy of Daniella@NUO-491