OPINION
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak Up. It’s Your Turn.
A recent faculty presentation at Souhegan High School by teacher Sarah Sullivan shined a light on the Novel/Trek program, created to help students with behavioral issues or different learning abilities by focusing on smaller-sized class settings.
These types of presentations are done about every three years inside the schools. In this case, many alumni of the program were invited to participate, as the presentation was also meant to call attention to the changes in the program, which has been downsized and adjusted.
“Essentially the program is now called Assist. It has some of the remnants of the old one, but not quite the same. I just want folks to know why it’s important to support our students in any way we can, and I also think it’s great to celebrate all of your successes,” said Sullivan. “It’s evidence that something like this is needed, works and is necessary.”
Sullivan spoke about the spirit of the Novel/Trek program, which aimed to get students back into mainstream classes with the rest of their peers by utilizing skills designed to work with students on a personal level. The Novel/Trek program was all about seeing the students as individuals, and getting them beyond their fears and anxieties, and feeling “different.”
The following statement was sent in to Sullivan by a former participant and Souhegan graduate, who wished to remain anonymous, but wanted his experience to be included in the presentation:
“I would love to express the importance the class played in my completion of school and my graduation which I probably never would have succeeded in other wise. Between my sheer rebellion and things that I was going through at the time, being in a big classroom I felt like the fly on the wall, a joke to my classmates; I felt they were smarter. If I had not been able to work in a small class and get the help I needed then I wouldn’t have succeeded. The people in that class will be friends for life to me (teachers included) that’s why I think that small classes should be available to the current and future alumni of Souhegan.”
Sullivan showed a number of slides which informed the audience, including fellow teachers, about how important it is to form a personal relationship with students in school who may have behavior problems or different styles of learning. In her research she notes that if a teacher helps a student identify skills or unsolved problems in their personal lives, and works with the student to process these issues as a team and work toward setting personal goals — and taking time to come up with solutions — then the student is more likely to succeed. By breaking through barriers that students put up because of stress or anxiety, teachers are able to get to the root of understanding the individual on a personal level. In that way, they are able to teach the student in a way they can understand, and thrive.
Reinforcement of negative behavior isn’t always the best way to correct a student with chronic issues because if reprimanded over and over, they then are more likely to continue the negative behavior or disengage altogether. Instead of teachers punishing the student for acting out or behaving in an unhealthy way, it’s more productive to try to be understanding and form a bond with these students.
Some students who went through the Novel/Trek program felt they couldn’t be in a large classroom or didn’t understand the style of how a particular teacher was teaching. Taking the time to genuinely care about a student, and understand how they learn or behave, is so much more effective than letting them struggle through mainstream classes.
Benjamin Cochrane, an alumnus of the program and Souhegan High School graduate, said it this way: “The program was so important to me, and without it I could never have graduated and got to where I am now. Some people just don’t get it, but people or teachers, who do get it, like you Sarah, are the reason kids like myself had a chance. The novel program saved me back then and allowed me to be where I am today without dropping out and messing up my life.”
The program underscores the fact that teacher involvement is so important to helping students grow by giving them a say in what they want to do, and in setting personal goals.
Sullivan says she believes that Novel/Trek was effective because it helped students in gaining academic, social and emotional skills and that it gave support for them in finding success in the larger classroom setting.
This program, originally known as Novel, is now known as Assist, and is now only utilized when students may need it. It’s no longer contained in a classroom for students with different ways of learning and behavioral problems to be in all day. It’s now a check-in program with minimal individual teaching and some individual support.
I believe the negative effects of this change are that students suffer a bit because they don’t get what they need. It’s more reactive than proactive. The one positive thing about this change is that there still is at least an attempt at a program and a desire on behalf of the district to do more. Now, because the school has made these changes, students who can’t utilize the full potential of the program may experience more problems within the school, such as attendance issues, or not graduating. There is also less support for students who need it.
Sullivan believes these changes are being made by the administration due to budget constraints and differing viewpoints about what is most effective.
I am also an alumni graduate of Souhegan High school, and was part of the Novel/Trek program. This program was personally effective for me because I came from a very small Christian school before attending public school. I found out after some learning tests that I was about two years behind what I should’ve been learning. I was placed into the smaller program to help me catch up; I also had a unique way of learning that the small group helped me identify. I felt like I couldn’t succeed in larger classes and felt intimidated by the larger group setting. Without the Novel/Trek program, I couldn’t have done it, I could tell they genuinely cared for us and wanted to see us succeed and graduate. I can’t thank them enough. It saddens me to know that the school no longer has this program available in its fullest potential to help students like me.
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Kelly Gadomski is a graduate of Souhegan High School and attends Southern New Hampshire University majoring in English. She lives in Mont Vernon and enjoys hiking, canoeing, reading and writing poetry, and spending time with family and friends. She works two jobs and is interning with Manchester Ink Link. She can be reached at frankesbud@yahoo.com.
