Please be sure that for the student replies you also address the following:
When you respond to your classmates, comment on how close their steps in helping a friend were to the stages of the helping process.
To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubric.For your response posts(2)you must:
Reply to at least two different classmates outside of your own initial post thread
Compose a post of one to two paragraphs
Student Replies That Need to Be Responded to:
POST 1: BAILEE
I recently supported one of my athletes, a team captain, who was facing challenges with her grades, a crucial aspect given the clear rules I set for academic performance to participate. Observing her sadness and frustration, I connected this situation to Chapter 7's, specifically focusing on "Exploring the Problem." It became evident that she was attributing blame more towards others, a perspective I could comprehend to an extent. As a coach with a commitment to high standards, I aim for the best for my athletes while also emphasizing their responsibility. Recognizing the need for a deeper understanding, I engaged in a conversation to uncover the underlying issues. It emerged that family situations were creating significant distractions for her, impacting not just her grades but also her overall engagement in school and cheerleading. Together, we reached an agreement on how to navigate personal challenges while maintaining a balance between academics and sports. This healing process stage is crucial, emphasizing the importance of delving into the deeper meaning behind people's actions and finding holistic solutions.
- POST 2: CHANICE
- Thirteen years ago, when I met my husband, I also met one of his really good friend’s wife and we instantly became best friends. We did everything together; shopping, vacations, and raising our children. She and her husband had a weird relationship that only got toxic as the years went on. The husband was caught cheating with multiple women, so in retaliation, my friend cheated on him. A huge argument ensued for several days and then they decided to forgive and forget. Fast forward nearly five years, the husband was found cheating again and told my friend that he wanted a divorce. He moved the girlfriend in and threw my friend and their daughter out of the house, but not before hitting her. I asked her if the physical abuse had ever happened before, and she revealed that he only hit her where it wasn’t visible to others, and it had been going on since he found out she had cheated on him all those years ago. She also found out that she was pregnant with their second child the same week.
In preparation to help my friend, I knew I would have to be the best listener I had ever been. I prepared myself to bury any judgment and let her explain her situation. I knew I would be the person to step up and help her because her parents were elderly and wouldn’t know what to do. The next thing I did was to make sure my friend was in a safe space, so I drove her to her house and helped pack a bag for her and her daughter, then drove her to her parent’s home. I wanted her to tell me everything that happened but didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, so I let her cry in my car practically the whole drive. Once we got to her parents’ house, she had calmed down and I was able to ask her questions and explore the problem in more depth. She explained the whole story and I laid out options that would help her, such as getting a job (because she was a stay-at-home mom), reporting the domestic abuse to the police, and moving all her belongings out of their house (she did not want to live in that home). I was able to get her a position at the retail store that I worked at, and she was able to go to college and just recently graduated. We moved all her belongings out of that house, and she is currently living with her parents who are helping her raise her two children. And she didn’t want to involve the police, because she still wanted him in their children’s lives. After the divorce was final, the husband remarried a different woman and moved to Kansas, doesn’t have much contact with his kids, and they are currently going back and forth in court for custody. Because we are still friends, there wasn’t a termination in my support.
Original Discussion Prompt:
In Chapter 7 of your textbook and in the overview, you began to explore the helping process. Consider a time when you helped a friend or family member. Describe how your process of understanding the problem and offering assistance compared to the different phases of the helping process described in Chapter 7 of the textbook. Submit your answers to the questions in your initial post. Be sure not to reveal any personal information about the individual you helped within your post.
Example of How to Respond to a Student Discussion Post:
Hi Nita,
I like how you discuss both the teacher observing the student and the student observing their own art. You bring up excellent points about the teachers observing the children, because it does help the teacher to better communicate with the children and understand them better. As teachers, it is very important to nurture students, particularly if they are very young, I think, because it allows them to better understand the needs of the student, and how to work with them. Paying attention to what the student is drawing, and seeing how the student reacts to their own work can improve the teachers’ understanding.
Expressing feelings in this discussion board reply examples is a major component of growing up. The more a student is able to express those feelings, the more they can understand them. I liked reading about what you said on this topic, and I agree that the art is a very useful tool that students can learn to express their feelings effectively. If they do not express them, they are keeping them inside, and drawing can become a form of counseling for them. In my opinion, I think the drawing can be particularly useful for many students who are quiet. These students do not often express themselves verbally, and drawing can be a way for them to understand their feelings, and to release some pent up sadness of hostile feelings, for example. I think this form of therapy sticks with many people throughout life, and they continue to use drawing as a coping mechanism.
Thanks,
Steven