OT ExpertJan 11, 2023

Plea to all teachers and educators.....

Please don't have general attendance targets for your students.

Some schools reward and punish depending on attendance scores. Some schools publicly give treats/extra break times/points to those who attend more, shaming those who don't/can't.

This is very problematic and potentially damaging to the student and their family.

Many students whose attendance isn't 100% or even 90% often have high levels of anxiety, executive function difficulties, mental health issues, family difficulties and/or physical illensses/disabilities.

Don't punish them for any of these, but try to understand their situation with an open and non-judgemental mind.

They just need 1 person to understand them better and it can truly change their lives.
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Show threadHernanLGJan 11, 2023
@OT_Expert This is a very good point. I teach in a European University and we have struggled a lot with attendance this past academic year. I think one of the causes is declining mental health in post-lockdown students, but unfortunately there are also students who don't show up to lectures that are "too early", "too late", etc. I agree with not rewarding attendance, because why would you reward the minimum that's expected? But how to differentiate serious problems from apathy?
Show threadBellJan 11, 2023
@HernanLG If they are apathetic, they will be apathetic while in your classroom. Make it possible for students to engage in classroom time without being physically present. Same with office hours. And initiate private conversations with students about how you can support them. When one of your students can never show up to anything ever again, you will wish the rest of your days you had taken the time.
Show threadHernanLG
@belltilmon I often think about that (the possibility of a student taking their life) and it's one of my mantras to deal with students' difficulties and struggles. What is challenging for me is knowing when to push a student to do better, and when to just let them go. I think a lot of students enter University because of family pressure, when university is clearly not their thing.
Jan 12, 2023 at 1:24pmWeb
Show threadBellJan 26, 2023
@HernanLG I think it is always a good idea to let students, or anyone, really, know that just because they started down one particular path doesn't mean they are a failure if they decide to instead take the road "less traveled by."