thoughts about trauma

Busy week this week and subbing every day.
Was reading Psychology Today and saw this quote, which really struck a cord:

Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside us in absence of an empathetic witness.

This is from Peter Levine's book In an Unspoken Voice, which I have not read, but will be on my list for this summer.

The quote grabbed my attention because of an experience I had with a K-5 student last year.  The student had a hard time regulating his emotions and behavior in the classroom, and teachers around him had a difficult time connecting with him and implementing behavioral interventions in the classroom that would work for him.  After a couple of months of mostly unsuccessful individual work with him, he was moved into a different classroom, and I worked with the new teacher on establishing consistent routines and responses that seemed to work with him.  The student craved attention and recognition, but was also very suspicious of females and sometimes became physically violent with female authority figures.  Finally, one of his family members reached out to me because they were seeing similar behaviors at home, and shared with me that this student experienced a traumatic event over the summer.  He was not physically abused but he witnessed abuse.

The student did not receive any help at the time or consequently.  The family did not feel it was necessary.  And this quote made me realize how important it would have been for this little kid to have a kind person to listen to him and share with them his experience and feelings after the event.  Instead, he internalized it all, made sense of it in his own developmentally appropriate but unhealthy way, and it all finally started coming out while at school and at home months later.  The experience and thinking about it afterwards made me realize that my only job with that student should have been to establish a trusting relationship, without attempting to immediately alter his behavior and cognitions.  He was missing solid and genuine connections with adult figures in his life, and was pushing all other adults away as well, as the only way he knew how to cope without getting too close.
I'm looking forward to reading Peter Levine's work, and I think sometime after I get a permanent position in a school, I'll take a trauma counseling course as well, something I should have done while doing my graduate work.

Chanting to Engage

Last week, I had great fun substituting in a 1st grade classroom.  The classroom was set-up like a well oiled machine with students knowing exactly what they were supposed to be doing for each transition and activity.  It was a pleasure to work with the students in this sort of organized, respectful, and engaged environment.  And speaking of engaged.  One of the first things students do in the morning to get the day going is a chant based on the letters in the word ENGAGE.  They do it with gestures and jumping and clapping and at the top of their lungs.  It was one of the most boisterous and meaningful morning warm-up activities.  I decided to include the entire chant on the blog for my own future use and for anyone else out there who is looking for a resource for elementary teachers that will get the kids moving and introduce ideas about responsibility, achievement, and positive attitudes into their classrooms.
Chant leader or teacher asks: What do you choose to do today?
Students answer: I choose to Engage!
One student shouts out the letters and all the students participate in the chant.

E.  I make a choice to Expect Excellence.  I will set high goals and make positive changes in my quest for excellence.  I have what it takes to be great.  The greatness was built within me at birth, but education and success are the fruits of my hard work.
N.  I accept No Excuses, just results.  There are no shortcuts in the pursuit of excellence.  I accept responsibility for the choices I make.  I will learn from my setback and keep working towards my goals.
G.  I will Get in the Game!  I will be productive and give back to my community.  I am a thinker.  I am a doer.  I am a peace-builder.  I will go to and through college.  I will not rest until my good is better and my better is best.
A.  Attitude is Everything!  Life is a gift.  I will work with passion and strive to look for the positive.  I will seek out wise and uplifting people.  I will affirm cultural values that foster kinship, respect, perseverance, and hard work.  It is my responsibility to maintain honor and respect in my family and community.
G.  I will Give Help When Needed.  I will respect others at all times, and I choose to do my part as a source of positive change.  I will communicate hope and eliminate negative influences in order to build healthy relationships.
E.  Enjoy Every Challenge!  I will find a way to achieve excellence and I choose to find joy in the experiences and challenges that life brings my way.

The chant can be finished with a brief overview of the message by having individual students shout out each letter and all the rest of the class response back with the key message (bolded).

The chanting contains within character building ideas as well as very positive and self-affirming messages.  It could be modified for the needs of the teacher or the school and the types of gestures the teacher decides to use can be as creative as they would like.

Borrowed from Hmong American Peace Academy in Milwaukee, WI

No Negatives Diet

Came across this cute little post about a Complaint-Free Diet and thought the quote the author used and the concept could be easily transferrable into school counseling work.  Starting in third grade, I have seen some interpersonal conflicts among students, primarily girls, that involve put-downs, criticisms, negative and disparaging remarks and looks.  All of these things contribute to a school-culture within which teasing and bullying can thrive.  One of the ways to help improve school and classroom climate is to focus on positive behaviors and teach students how to interact with each other in positive and cooperative ways.  I could see how this simple idea could be spun into a school-wide campaign or a classroom intervention or several activities for small group work.

Here's the quote:

"We have no more right to put our discordant states of mind into the lives of those around us and rob them of their sunshine and brightness than we have to enter their houses and steal their silverware." 
– Julia Moss Seton

Considering and really thinking about this quote with students could create a wonderful discussion about how we impact others around us and what it means to them and us.

180 Days

Yesterday, I started watching the documentary 180 School Days: A Year Inside an American High School.  Currently it's available in its full length both on PBS and on the documentary's website.  The documentary made me think about the role of a school counselor in an alternative school like DC Metro, with a population of students who have been suspended out of other schools, live in dangerous and unstable home environments and statistically have almost no chance of graduating.

At the beginning of the school year, the principal tells her incoming freshman class that 1 out of 3 of them is not going to make it through high school.  That's a terrible statistic!  1 out of 3 students will not graduate! They will give up and will end up on the streets without any means of supporting themselves and their families.  But the principal speaks to them about choices and values and how it is up to them to defy the statistics.  She also states several times that all the adults in the building are on their side.  They are here, in the school, for the sole purpose of supporting and educating the students.  Reminding students of that every day is incredibly powerful.  Showing students that it is important to the teacher on  a personal level that the student succeeds gives way for a more a trusting and emotionally laden relationship.

The counselor in a school like that has the challenge of meeting the needs of all the students but it is a challenge that can either be seen as an unsurmountable obstacle or as a opportunity to grow as an educator and an individual while helping and supporting the growth of students.  Lots of thoughts came out of watching this for me--and I think it would be a perfectly appropriate video to show to students one day as well.  It can help teach the notion that once the student has the "why" for succeeding  they will find the "how" for making it happen.  And with a supportive adult at their side that they know they can count on no matter what, the odds of achieving that goal are much greater.

coding

Today, Facebook was my source of inspiration for the post.  Indirectly, of course, as it usually is.  This morning, I saw an interesting and somewhat alarming statistic posted on Facebook by Code.org.
This is the image

Well, actually, it was the middle statistic with the two pie charts that I saw on facebook, but then I went to Code.org to see the rest of their information.

This was really alarming to me, because I never thought of computer science as a field that was lacking in qualified job seekers.  When I was getting my undergraduate degree in Anthropology, a lot of people I was friends with or knew from high school or through other friends, were going to school for computer science.  It seemed like a lot of people in my circles were getting that degree then, and finding jobs with it as well.  I didn't realize that this was such a concern for the industry these days.

I think, perhaps, that as a school counselor I won't be pushing students into the field, but I think it would be appropriate to highlight for students the variety of jobs out there that are in demand.  If a student is interested in maths and sciences then why not encourage that student to look into compute science and engineering and perhaps job shadow someone in the field or do an internship with a company.

Computers are going to be a part of everything in our lives from now on, and I feel that i'd be disservice not to share that with students and not to encourage them in that direction.

Of course, encouraging them is one thing, but supplying them with opportunities for that experience is quite another.  In a lot of schools, computer science and programming classes are not counted towards math and science requirements, but are only seen as electives.  I feel that it could be beneficial to start conversations at the high school level about the availability of computer programming classes to students and starting to count them towards math graduation requirements.

In addition to my thoughts, here's an interesting article from New York Times about Microsoft's answer to the foreseen shortage of technical talent in their industry.
Fostering Tech Talent in Schools

Reading ASCA

Yes, so I've slipped, and have not blogged the last couple of days. My excuses? I have been a bit down about not getting a position I interviewed for last week, and also have been working on new resumes and cover letters, which sucks up a lot of brain power and energy from other endeavors. Today, after finishing a new version of a cover letter for a position I really want, I decided to pick up the newest copy of the ASCA School Counselor magazine. This issue presents five outstanding school counselors from across the country who have been honored this year at being named the best in their profession. Reading their stories has been very inspiring and motivated me to get back on my blog wagon and keep doing what I am doing. The post will still be short, but I wanted to share a quote from one of the articles in the magazine, "Meant for Mentors."
                 "A school counselor who decides to stay isolated
                  will be rehashing the same lessons, struggling with the same concerns
                  and possibly making the same mistakes.  But to the school counselor who 
                  decides to seek out a positive, nourishing relationship, so much good is possible."
                               Anthony Pearson (a school counseling mentor)

I think it's so very important in our profession to seek out others' ideas and inspiration to keep ourselves motivated, to create better and more challenging and effective lessons, and to continue to inspire, lead, and advocate for all our students.

Source:
Pfleger, N. (2013, April). Meant for mentors. School Counselor, 50(4), 27-30.

Teaching channel

Quick posts today and tomorrow.
This morning, I thought I'd go visit the Teaching Channel.Org, which has been a wonderful source of inspiration to me so far.  One of the first videos I watching this morning was from a 7th grade English classroom.  The teacher in this classroom decided to engage her students in the idea of understanding how their classroom learning and activities are connected to the common core standards.  She gave each student a copy of the standards and before starting on a new unit or concept, she connects back to the standards and goes through the language of the standards to show the students that their learning is purposeful and thoughtful.  I think it's a wonderful idea, and I also see as being transferrable into the school counseling curriculum and lessons.  Even though the common core standards have not yet come out for school counseling, there are definitely standards that could be connected to the overall teaching goals of the guidance lessons.  If an English teacher is using common core standards to connect the students to their learning, it could be a wonderful opportunity for a school counselor to build on that as well and show the students that what they're learning in one classroom has connections to other learning in the school.  So here's the short clip that got me thinking about all this.