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Graduate Teaching Certificate Program

Workshop/Seminar Review Form

Date: ______9/23/2010______

Workshop/Seminar Title: ______Supporting Foster Care, Homeless, and Other Disconnected Youth at CSU: Times of Economic Downturn______

Presenter/Facilitator: ___Reuben Guerrero, Andrea Fortney, Siri Newman______

Please keyboard your answers into this document using as much space as it takes to fully answer each question. Being a word document, the space below each question will expand as you type, pushing the rest of the questions farther down the page.

Once complete, please upload to your ePortfolio. Remember, the GraduateTeaching Certificate requires that you have attended and reviewed six pedagogical workshops or seminars.

  1. Explain the central topic and purpose of the workshop/seminar. What are the presenter/facilitator’s goals for this workshop?

The presenters’ goals in this workshop were to alert the audience about the current prevalence of disconnected students and educate them about the unique challenges (academic and other) that this population faces. Through small group brainstorming after the presentation, the facilitators hoped to generate ideas of how educators and community members can support these students and improve their college experiences.

  1. What information in the workshop/seminar was most valuable to you?

I knew very little about foster care and the experiences of foster children after emancipation, and so it was useful for me to simply become aware that this population exists and may experience challenges that are unknown to the traditional student. Because most of them do not have families to support them, they may be working several jobs in addition to a full class load. They may also be living on their own and taking care of themselves early on and without the benefits that come from parents, mentors, and experience.

The presentation also provided a great introduction to the resources available to disconnected students on campus, such as the Academic Advancement Center (tutoring and mentoring). If I encounter students in need of these services, I will now know where to direct them.

  1. How will you connect that information to your own pedagogical endeavors?

In teaching, I think that it is of utmost importance to understand a class and realize that the students come from a variety of backgrounds. According to the presentation, 65% of foster children switch high schools more than 7 times. In a shaky environment such as this, it is easy to see why many of them may have gaps in their educations. Teachers should be aware of this possibility and not assume that a student experiencing difficulties is just “not working hard enough.” Furthermore, disconnected students – or traditional students - may have issues with stress and adjustment in college, no matter what their backgrounds. It may come in handy to know exactly where and who students having trouble can go to for academic, career, emotional, and social support, all of which play roles in a student’s overall success.

  1. After attending this workshop/seminar, what additional information would you like to seek about this subject?

I would be interested in gaining more training on how to professionally counsel students in trouble while not overstepping my bounds as a teacher or trying to be their friend, which I have heard is often not helpful. This presentation was somewhat heartbreaking, and if a student came to me expressing problems that many disconnected students face (for example, confusion and stress about how to fill out the FAFSA, apply for scholarships, make their rent, or find somewhere to go for the holidays), I would want to do everything in my power to help them. I have been told that teachers should make every effort to direct students to people who can help them best instead of trying personally to help them. I think it would be useful for me to continue exploring the resources on campus that serve students with special needs so that I will be ready to advise students with the most pertinent information without overstepping my bounds as a teacher. The presenters mentioned that a support group is being formed soon for foster children in particular, and I would like to stay updated about this.

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