How To Connect With Your Students

Fig. 1. “A techer comforts a student” prompt, Canva, Magic Media, 23 Feb. 2024

“Students don’t always know what questions to ask. My job is to provide them push in the right direction,”says Rosalie Vos Tulp, a Career Services Counselor at Iowa State University. Vos Tulp has been working with students for 21 years.  She has been a High School athletic trainer, instructor at DMACC, academic advisor in engineering, and is currently a career service and education advisor in the college of liberal arts and sciences. “My job is help students with resumes, search job boards, and ultimately find a job. I can’t do this unless a student trusts me first, throughout my years of teaching I have learned how to make students feel comfortable,” says Vos Tulp. 

The key to connecting with students is knowing when it’s appropriate to ask personal questions. Vos Tulp says, “read their body language to know if it’s appropriate to ask. If you can tell if they are super closed off don’t ask.” Whether you’re talking to college students or highschoolers, they are basically adults. Let the student decide what they are comfortable with sharing.

Vos Tulp highlighted some common mistakes coworkers have made when trying to connect with students. “Students have to trust you in order for you to make a significant impact, they need to feel comfortable in their physical space like your office,” she says. Vos Tulp says to avoid any outwardly political decorations or posters, nothing that could be taken as offensive. She says to avoid off-color jokes, or questions like “where are you from?” which can be taken as offensive or racist. Instead Vos Tulp suggests asking “where’s your hometown?” or even “where do you call home?”

Vos Tulp wants people who work with students to remember It’s not your job to ask about their personal life, unless it’s getting in the way of their schooling. Your job guides them in asking the questions that can give them more clarity, sometimes they don’t even know what questions to ask. Vos Tulp says, “Students have to make a lot of life decisions, figuring out their career, who they are, and their identity. Sometimes they just need someone to listen.”

The Climate Crisis

Climate change is an unavoidable crisis that affects every person on this planet. Its impact is disproportionately worse in underprivileged areas. Climate change is creating rising oceans, and affecting the world’s agriculture. We need to increase the urgency for action to lessen its consequences.

One critical reason demanding attention is the threat that if temperatures exceeding 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) increase in global temperatures, it could devastate vulnerable places. Especially island nations and other susceptible spots. Experts predict that sea levels is estimated to rise 10-12 inches by 2050.  This increase imposes a threat to these low-lying areas. This creates a possibility of displacement and loss of livelihoods for millions.

In underprivileged areas if the United States, there are concrete-heavy infrastructures, which exacerbate the impact of climate change. According to The UK Science Museum Organization, The production of cement generates about 2.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Going past production, concrete buildings are capable of absorbing 95% of the sun’s energy, which is then emitted back into the atmosphere. Underprivileged people tend to actually feel the effects of climate change more than others because many live in concrete-heavy areas. 

The implications of climate change on agriculture is sometimes overlooked. Eroded soil, depleted nutrients, and increased agricultural runoff due to heavy rains might our jeopardize food security. These effects not only harm crops but also diminish water quality.  This can strain the food supply, especially in vulnerable regions that are reliant on agriculture for sustenance. 

The urgency to address climate change is a global issue. Protecting underprivileged areas from the disproportionate impact of climate change requires immediate action to limit temperature rise.  It is our collective responsibility to protect the planet and ensure a sustainable future for all.

Works Cited:

BENJAMIN, K. Climate Change 101 with Wesley Wiggins. Washington Informer, [s. l.], v. 58, n. 43, p. 22–23, 10 ago. 2023. 43. Disponível em: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=66327bcb-afdf-384f-bfc4-e8cb6276a023. Acesso em: 3 dez. 2023.

MEEK, K.; NUTTER, M. Renewables and Natural Gas Together Can Help Us Fight Climate Change. Washington Informer, [s. l.], v. 59, n. 4, p. 30–53, 2023. Disponível em: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=621c206b-3ffb-3f58-8207-f668a3bdff03. Acesso em: 3 dez. 2023

Asia bears brunt of climate change: Countries need better access to resources to help predict health risks, report says. South Asian Post, [s. l.], p. 17, 2023. Disponível em: https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=d70415a2-c109-3a3a-8e8a-104d26bdda0a. Acesso em: 3 dez. 2023

The Ghosts Inside My Head

I’m hunched up in my bed, my heart is pounding, when suddenly there’s a creek in the hall. Hundreds of possibilities flew through my mind of what the noise could be, but one sticks out among the others. The terrifying possibility of a ghost. 

Throughout my middle school years, the internet controlled my life, especially YouTube. When I was home alone, that was my chance to watch my videos. I sat down in front of the computer the second I heard the garage close as my mom left, all the way until the garage opened upon her arrival back home. My drug of choice was haunted 3 AM vlogs, which consisted of a YouTuber staying up until 3 AM, trying to capture any ghostly activity they could. These videos were suspenseful, they were designed to keep kids hooked and terrified.

My family had a lot of late nights, because of travel hockey, which meant I was home alone a lot. These haunted 3 AM videos left me terrified and filled with dread. I would lay in my bed fully convinced I was not alone in my house, and I was one second away from a brutal haunting. These nights were often sleepless until I heard the relieving sound of the garage opening upon my family’s arrival. My family is not known for their quietude, but as they yapped about body checks and slapshots, I was calmed to sleep. 

Even though my belief in ghouls and ghosts controlled many of my late nights as a preteen, I have now come to see the silliness in my fears. I have since realized the torment was self-inflicted. I could have avoided some late nights if I hadn’t watched those 3 AM videos, but I find comfort in the fact that no matter what I always hear my garage open, and my noisy family walk in.

High School- Behind The Screens

Being a high school student in 2023 is about having relationships with my peers in a novel way that outsiders might not have imagined. In this era of new technological innovations, including social media and online video chats, making connections with peers is done in interesting circumstances and spaces. 

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, students started online high school. Classes took place on Zoom and Google Meet. The closest to one-on-one interactions were in breakout rooms, which was a video chat with 2 or 3 other students, consisting of awkward interactions and little to no talking. Without the social aspect of in-person school, many teenagers felt isolated during the pandemic. 

By special.to found on L’OBSERVATAUR

This era of new technology creates connections between classmates in the digital world, but not necessarily in the classroom. With social media, connections are sped up, talking over text or Snapchat happens daily, but conversations in person happen less. You may talk to someone all night, but not even glance at them in class. This scenario is normal for high schoolers today. More relationships between students are forming through social media. Online conversation is more comfortable for students because it is less threatening to look at a bubble of text, rather than another person. 

Social Media also creates benefits in the classroom. Specifically during group projects, contacting peers about meeting times or clarification on the project is simple and works instantly. Some students even use social media with teachers, while this is often frowned upon, many students prefer to ask questions this way instead of email because teachers tend to check their phones more often than their computers. 

Despite the setback of Covid-19, high school students today are connecting with each other more than ever. It may not appear this way to adults, but the use of social media helps with school work, as well as creating relationships with peers