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

Teaching Tolerance

I received a renewal notice from the Teaching Tolerance magazine, which I had subscribed for last year.  I learned about this magazine from a professor in a school counseling course, and it took me a year to remember to subscribe to it, but I'm glad I finally did.   This is a wonderful FREE resource available to educators at every level of the school system.
The magazines publishes 4-5 feature articles on relevant and interesting topics such as, "Found in Translation: Ensure school environments are welcoming to English language learners (ELLs) and their families" and "The School to prison pipeline: Policies and practices that favor incarceration over education do us all a grave injustice."
There are also a few opinion pieces and short pieces that briefly but thoroughly address current decisions that counselors, administrator and teachers have to make in their buildings, such as whether or not to establish a school uniform in the school.
The magazines also has several activities for all the grade levels that are centered around ideas of inclusion, friendship, prejudice, multiculturalism, etc.. So for a counselor, this magazine can be a great resource of ways to teach these sometimes difficult topics in a way that encourages open and non-judgement filled discussions.
Anyways, I will be renewing my subscription to this magazine, starting with the digital copy, which promises to have more multi-media ways to explore the magazine's topics and ideas.
Happy Friday!  One week of posts! Whoohoo!!

Careers Trivia

Sometimes when I'm at school or just driving somewhere, an activity idea will pop into my head, but I won't write it down right away and of course, even though, I think it'll still be there, it never is. Doing this blog is a good way for me to be self-motivated about writing things like that down, so that I could post them on here daily and keep a record of things I would actually do in the classroom.

Today I was thinking about the Pre-College workshops I have been involved in over the last year. I have been teaching middle and high school students about careers, learning styles, study skills, etc. I haven't done one since January, however, but am thinking of doing one in April or May and it'll most likely be about career exploration. I thought about the structure of the career workshops I did last year, and how not all the kids were engaged. Even though most of them enjoyed exploring careers on websites like, O-net and figuring out where their interests lie by taking the Interest Profiler, there were a few here and there that weren't as motivated. Not sure if the idea I have will work for all, but I like starting with a fun activity that connects to prior knowledge and also peeks kids' interest levels by introducing some neat concepts and ideas. So i'm thinking of putting together a trivia-like game to start the workshop with, or it could also be a good intro for a counseling unit on career exploration.

It could be done simply as a Jeopardy game or I was actually wanting to adapt the Quizmaster Trivia format, which has six categories with 5 questions in each and also uses a visual component by including photos, fuzzy pictures, maps and the like to provide a variety to the clues. There are so many professions out there that the students have never heard of (and that i have never heard of), and I think it would be fun to make it into a trivia game/guessing game by using clues that kids will be confident about, such as, "What level of education is required to become a medical doctor?" and things they might have to pick the best educated answer for from a multiple choice listing, such as "What does a Millwright do?" So I could start a workshop with a quick trivia to get students thinking about professions, education levels, skills, types of interests and strengths one has to have to engage in them, and all other related information that is available on sites like O-net. Could be fun!
For instance, do you know what an Aquacultural Manager does, or that it is one of the "bright outlook" professions students could benefit from knowing about when thinking about their futures?

Millwrights

You were late..now what?

I have a feeling most of my posts will be starting with the line: "While subbing the other day, I picked up..." or maybe not, but this one definitely will start with that.
I picked up this "tardy" slip in a middle school classroom last week.  I liked it because it is one of those procedural things that could be taught to kids at the beginning of the school year and that would establish clear parameters and expectations of the teacher for the classroom and for the students' behavior.  In this classroom, these slips are kept in a manila envelop that is hanging near the door.  So as a student walks into the classroom late, he/she will know to immediately grab one of these slips and fill it out.  I am assuming the teacher would expect the student to the turn it in by the end of the day, if not by the end of the hour.  This simple expectation of being responsible for one's own reflection saves the teacher and the classroom precious time at the start of the hour, so instead of having to ask the student why they are tardy or berate them for the tardiness as they walk in, the teacher can simply expect the student to write out the reflection and then speak with the student about it at a more convenient and conducive time.  I also like that it is structured as a reflection, which allows the student to consider how their behavior impacts the learning of others and themselves.  I could see using this as a counselor or offering it as a classroom management tool for teachers who are seeking for new ways to respond to student tardiness.

Tardy slip

The note asks to fill in:

I was late because:

Being late is disrespectful to myself because:

Being late is disrespectful to my fellow scholars because:

Being late is disrespectful to my teacher because:








In other notes, heard an interesting interview with a professor of linguistics, Anita Pandey, who spoke today on WUWM's Lake Effect program.  She talked about how educators can capitalize on students' ability to speak different dialects of English when teaching instead of disregarding their already existing linguistic abilities in their drive to teach students standard English.  Her book, Building Blocks: Essential Linguistics for Early Childhood Educators, sounds like a good resource for learning about how students' language impacts their education and achievement in the classroom.