Two colleagues I consider to be dear friends are retiring at the end of this school year. Typically, retirement of friends causes a little tinge of jealousy to rise up in me. Not so much this time. While I don’t see them often anymore due to a change in my…
Category: School Counselor
School Counselor
NO ONE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT (E. Roosevelt): Lessons in Bully Resistance
February, the month of LOVE, is home to Valentine’s Day and, personally, my more preferred celebration, Random Acts of Kindness week. This year, RAK week is February 9th-15th. You agree, I’m sure, that RAK should be every day, not just a week-long celebration, but intentionally promoting it during this week…
School Counselor
A LETTER TO MY FAVORITE TEACHER
Dear Mrs. Davis, You were my second grade teacher at Arapaho Elementary School in Richardson, Texas. The year, 1965. I really don’t remember much about what you taught me, outside of the Planets Song, but I remember how you made me feel…Loved. You were old, plump, and wore horn-rimmed glasses. …
School Counselor
THE UMBRELLA PLAN: A Counseling Strategy for Planning Ahead, Just In Case
Have you, like most people, ever taken an umbrella with you just so it wouldn’t rain? You know the old adage about how it won’t rain because you are uncharacteristically prepared for it?! That’s this strategy! When a student seeks you out because of a current significant stressor, grab the…
School Counselor
THE RIPPLE EFFECT: A Strategy for Analyzing Conflicts
rip·ple ef·fect (n.): The continuing and spreading results of an event or action. www.oxforddictionaries.com A simple technique I frequently use with students is the “Ripple Effect” strategy. Often, I work with students who are impulsive in their decisions, resistant to authority, quick to anger, or easily baited by peers to…