I had the chance to check in with mom today during drop off time. Her and I needed to go though some paperwork for our program, so I was able to just check in. Here is what we discussed.
Me: "Good morning, how are things going?"
Mom:" Fine! I got a new job."
Me: "That's wonderful to hear, what will you be doing? What will the hours be?"
Mom: "I will be working third shift at a factory. My hours will be 3-11. I am excited to start working because I would really like to move out of my moms."
Me: "How are you feeling about those hours? How do you plan on squeezing in time for your homework?"
Mom: " I'm going to do my homework while baby is here with you."
Me: " Great, do you think it would be helpful if we sat down together and wrote out a schedule for you? That way you will know what you need to do and when?"
Mom: " I guess."
Me: " Well, we can talk about it when we meet together later this week."
Mom:" Ok."
Me: " I'm so happy for you that you got a job. It is an exciting time for you."
Mom: "Thanks."
I feel a little uncomfortable with this conversation. I am very worried that she is taking on too much. I plan on having a meeting with her later this week, and during that I time I will bring copies of a monthly calender. I will see if she wants to talk about planning her days so that she allows time for schoolwork. From this conversation, I feel as though she is moving away from her focus on finishing school, toward working, and moving out. This is concerning for me because I want her to be able to be successful and be able to move forward with her life. Without having a high school education, she will not be able to get into college and become a nurse like she wants. I will continue to encourage her to work on her homework while the baby is with us, and hopefully be able to show her how managing her time is going to be essential.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Case Study- Post 4
This afternoon I met with mom. Her and I had decided that she would come in a half hour earlier than normal so that we could continue our conversation about enrolling in school. Mom came into the classroom smiling, and I was excited to see her happy. We walked down the hall to an empty classroom, and sat down at a table. I always sit next to here at the table when we sit down for our meetings. I want her to get the feeling that I am on her team, and that I'm not just another person trying to tell her what to do. I feel that sitting next to her is a physical way to show her that I'm on her team.
I asked her, " Tell me about how you are feeling about enrolling for school again?"
She responded by telling me," I feel good. I think this time will be different because, I know that I can leave baby here with you and work on school work during the day."
I asked, "Since you received the information in the mail, what have you done with it?"
She smiled and said, " I called them, set up a payment plan of $50 monthly while I'm working on my work, and then when I finish the work I will pay the rest of it off."
I said, " Wow! I'm so glad that you took that step to set it up."
She said, "They set up all the coursework I need to finish and I can do it all at my own pace."
I asked, "So did they send you textbooks in the mail? How does all that work?"
She said, " The textbooks are online."
I asked," How do you feel about the books being online? I know you had mentioned that you have a hard time comprehending when you are reading sometimes. Do you think that if you had the actual book it might be better for you?"
She said, " No, I think it will be fine to have the books online."
I said, " Great! Lets plan to talk again next week about how you are feeling about balancing everything."
Mom and I agreed to meet together in a week and discuss how it feels to balance school, and motherhood. I know that being a full-time mom and all life responsibilities is very difficult for adult parents to balance. I have learned in my research that teen parents are not only balancing the development of their child, learning how to be independent and their own development. All of these things can be overwhelming for them, and often they are unable to balance it all effectively.
The next steps: My plan is to check in with mom not only at our weekly meeting but at least one other time briefly at pick up or drop off time. I plan to check in with her and make sure that she is feeling capable of taking on this task and know that I am here to support her. I am glad that she feels confident with doing school online, but I worry that she will get overwhelmed. At our next meeting I would like to discuss with mom how she plans on scheduling her time to allow enough time for her homework,caring for baby, looking for a job, and her social life. I would like to help her create a schedule for herself that lays out for her what she plans on doing at certain times of the day.
I asked her, " Tell me about how you are feeling about enrolling for school again?"
She responded by telling me," I feel good. I think this time will be different because, I know that I can leave baby here with you and work on school work during the day."
I asked, "Since you received the information in the mail, what have you done with it?"
She smiled and said, " I called them, set up a payment plan of $50 monthly while I'm working on my work, and then when I finish the work I will pay the rest of it off."
I said, " Wow! I'm so glad that you took that step to set it up."
She said, "They set up all the coursework I need to finish and I can do it all at my own pace."
I asked, "So did they send you textbooks in the mail? How does all that work?"
She said, " The textbooks are online."
I asked," How do you feel about the books being online? I know you had mentioned that you have a hard time comprehending when you are reading sometimes. Do you think that if you had the actual book it might be better for you?"
She said, " No, I think it will be fine to have the books online."
I said, " Great! Lets plan to talk again next week about how you are feeling about balancing everything."
Mom and I agreed to meet together in a week and discuss how it feels to balance school, and motherhood. I know that being a full-time mom and all life responsibilities is very difficult for adult parents to balance. I have learned in my research that teen parents are not only balancing the development of their child, learning how to be independent and their own development. All of these things can be overwhelming for them, and often they are unable to balance it all effectively.
The next steps: My plan is to check in with mom not only at our weekly meeting but at least one other time briefly at pick up or drop off time. I plan to check in with her and make sure that she is feeling capable of taking on this task and know that I am here to support her. I am glad that she feels confident with doing school online, but I worry that she will get overwhelmed. At our next meeting I would like to discuss with mom how she plans on scheduling her time to allow enough time for her homework,caring for baby, looking for a job, and her social life. I would like to help her create a schedule for herself that lays out for her what she plans on doing at certain times of the day.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Case Study- Post 3: Research
We search, on our journeys,
for a self to be, for other selves to love,
and for work to do…
We find by losing. We hold on by letting go.
--Frederick Buechner
I have done some research about adolescent development to help me understand the rhyme and reasoning behind some of the behaviors of the mother that I am working with. I want to be able to understand her needs, and know where is is coming from developmentally so that I can change the ways I work with her, and other teen parents I will work with the future. There are a couple of behaviors that I have noticed that I feel could cause the mother to not reach her goals. I was to discuss those behaviors and the research that is related to why I am seeing those behaviors. One thing that I have noticed is being impulsive. The mother I am working with often changes her mind as to what she would like to work on and in what order. I have found it difficult to just tell her how I would do it, and allow her to make her choices and support those choices.
I would like to talk about brain development in adolescence, and how the development in the brain during the time of adolescence would effect our work together. The frontal lobe is an area of the brain that controls emotional regulation, self-control and judgment. During adolescence, this area of the brain is "under construction" This explains why during our work together the mother has a hard time making sound judgment calls, such as choosing to purchase a car without having a job. The implication of this information for be as a teacher/mentor for this family is that I need to be aware that she is still learning how to be in control of her emotions, and needs to more time to practice making good, sound judgment calls. I will be able to help her practice these skills, by offering her choices and asking her about the outcomes of the choices that she makes. By allowing her a place to practice and discuss these skills it will help her develop them and this will help her make better choices later in life.
for a self to be, for other selves to love,
and for work to do…
We find by losing. We hold on by letting go.
--Frederick Buechner
I have done some research about adolescent development to help me understand the rhyme and reasoning behind some of the behaviors of the mother that I am working with. I want to be able to understand her needs, and know where is is coming from developmentally so that I can change the ways I work with her, and other teen parents I will work with the future. There are a couple of behaviors that I have noticed that I feel could cause the mother to not reach her goals. I was to discuss those behaviors and the research that is related to why I am seeing those behaviors. One thing that I have noticed is being impulsive. The mother I am working with often changes her mind as to what she would like to work on and in what order. I have found it difficult to just tell her how I would do it, and allow her to make her choices and support those choices.
I would like to talk about brain development in adolescence, and how the development in the brain during the time of adolescence would effect our work together. The frontal lobe is an area of the brain that controls emotional regulation, self-control and judgment. During adolescence, this area of the brain is "under construction" This explains why during our work together the mother has a hard time making sound judgment calls, such as choosing to purchase a car without having a job. The implication of this information for be as a teacher/mentor for this family is that I need to be aware that she is still learning how to be in control of her emotions, and needs to more time to practice making good, sound judgment calls. I will be able to help her practice these skills, by offering her choices and asking her about the outcomes of the choices that she makes. By allowing her a place to practice and discuss these skills it will help her develop them and this will help her make better choices later in life.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Case Study: Post 2
I completed a parent teacher conference with the mom. We were able to discuss her goals for herself and her child more in depth. She discussed with me that she has been doing research regarding Penn Foster online high school. We discussed the options of doing the online school, or going to GED classes. She said, " It will be easier for me to do online because I will be able to work on my school work when the baby is sleeping, and at my own pace." I see this as a huge step for her. She asked me if I would help her get more information about the online program and I agreed. I was able to go online and have a packet of information sent to her home discussing the program. Mom and I planned that after the packet arrived at her house, she would call me so we could discuss how she was feeling about the workload, and what her plan would be to complete all of it in a timely manner.
The baby: The child is doing well. The speech sessions seem to be boosting her language, and the feedback I am getting from the speech teacher is positive.
Successes: I thought that the conference was very successful! I felt like mom was right on track to getting this goal started. The fact that she wanted to discuss moving forward with her education, and had started to develop a plan was a success for me. I also felt as though this is a successful conference because mom has made a plan and is moving forward with it.
Limitations: I find that one of the limitations during this session with the mom was the fact that we also had to discuss information regarding her daughters development also. Even though I feel that this is the best way to get to her and show her that I do care about both her and her daughter, I feel that it can also be a distraction. I also feel as though because she has so many goals for herself that she also gets overwhelmed discussing goals for herself.
The next step: The next step for our work together is going to be getting together and filling out the required financial aid paperwork to turn into the school. I will continue to discuss with her planning time for her homework, readings and making sure that she does not overwhelm herself.
The baby: The child is doing well. The speech sessions seem to be boosting her language, and the feedback I am getting from the speech teacher is positive.
Successes: I thought that the conference was very successful! I felt like mom was right on track to getting this goal started. The fact that she wanted to discuss moving forward with her education, and had started to develop a plan was a success for me. I also felt as though this is a successful conference because mom has made a plan and is moving forward with it.
Limitations: I find that one of the limitations during this session with the mom was the fact that we also had to discuss information regarding her daughters development also. Even though I feel that this is the best way to get to her and show her that I do care about both her and her daughter, I feel that it can also be a distraction. I also feel as though because she has so many goals for herself that she also gets overwhelmed discussing goals for herself.
The next step: The next step for our work together is going to be getting together and filling out the required financial aid paperwork to turn into the school. I will continue to discuss with her planning time for her homework, readings and making sure that she does not overwhelm herself.
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