Are Letter Grades Hurting or Helping ?

I found this article provocative.

Affirmation

Recently, two things happened that warmed my heart.  The first involved a 13 year old student who has spent the last four years richocheting from one foster home to another.  She still has her radiant smile and would not stand out from the crowds of students bustling through our hallways.  She is, in fact, different; she is a warrior.  Her mother asked me to speak to her after sharing the story of their family struggles and pain.  I did call her daughter in for a brief chat after her mother left.  She listened politely (as we sat there in our Halloween costumes) as I told her about her mother's request.  At first, she declined saying that she had learned not to trust counsellors, that they had betrayed her in the past.  Then, she paused as she considered me.  "I'll trust you" she said.  We agreed to meet again to begin the mutual adventure that is counselling.  Trust, particularly when given as a gift by a wounded child is something to be cherished and respected.  It involves a great responsibility to make the most of the opportunity; to get it right. 

On another occasion, at the end of a hectic and stressful day, I noticed a brightly coloured envelope in my mailbox outside my office door.  My name had been carefully hand lettered and neatly coloured on the front.  Inside, I found a full page of neatly printed text that expressed the heartfelt appreciation of one of our senior students.  She had come to see me last school year during a particularly difficult time in her life.  We had spent time together in my counselling office working through her feelings, options and perspectives.  We discussed the direction her life seemed to be heading.  We talked about choices people make.  We talked about changing direction.  I gave her as much encouragement as I could.  We did not see each other again.  I had wondered how she was doing but she did not return for counselling.  I did not hear from her at all, until I found her letter to me outside my office door.
It contains phrases like " genuine person", "heart of gold", "made all my problems vanish", "how much you care for kids", "Adults like you are ones I look up to.", "well deserved thank-you".  Receiving a letter like this reminds me of why I am a counsellor.  It reminds me, and affirms the fact that, we counsellors often have a tremendous impact on the hearts and lives of our students.  We don't often see or hear about the depth of meaning our work has for our clients but through this letter, I was given a glimpse.

Grief

Nothing brings our school community together more quickly than the death of one of our own.  Recently, we were informed a recently graduated and well loved student had passed away suddenly.  The immediate outpouring of grief from staff and students alike was a reminder of the value of each individual and the strength of the bond that our learning community has forged together.  In the end, education is much more than an academic exercise within "bricks and mortar" schools.   It is still an intensely personal human journey.  Will something important be lost if we exchange our one to one, face to face community with virtual communities of online learners ? 

Making Your Group More Effective Through Dissent.

I found this article interesting and potentially helpful for anyone working within a group.

Start-Up. After the Siege.

The last week of August and the first two weeks of September are very intense times for high school counsellors.  We are bombarded with current students' requests for timetable changes and changes of plans due to summer school and online courses that were (unexpectedly) completed.  There are usually 30 or 40 new students to fit into appropriate timetables (in an already full school).  Many of the new students do not speak English fluently and have just arrived in Canada.   In a multi-cultural school like ours, all this intense activity requires highly developed diplomacy and first rate communication skills to make things flow smoothly.  Of course, everything is emotionally heightened by the fact we are dealing with adolescents who are on edge and under a great deal of pressure themselves.  Parents, naturally, become emotionally involved whenever their child is not able to get the courses he or she needs (or wishes for).  The front office is a beehive of activity and teamwork as new students are processed and current students' phone calls and requests are dealt with.  All in all, it is a very intense, exciting and physically/mentally demanding three weeks.   The important themes during this time include: teamwork, compassion, firmness, fairness, speed, efficiency and perseverance.

 After three weeks of intense effort by the counselling department, administration, the office staff and the ELL staff, 1500 students are happily attending their classes.  Teachers can now begin handing out textbooks instead of watching the constant flow in and out of their classes as schedules are changed and changed again.  Parents can begin to relax.  Today is Friday.  It is the end of three intense weeks of effort by counsellors..  It is 3:20 p.m.  Most of the students have left the school.  The sun is shining outside my window.  The sky is bright blue.  We can look forward to a relaxing and well deserved rest over the weekend.  On Monday, counsellors will begin to focus on all the other tasks we are involved with over the course of a school year.   For counsellors, the siege is over !

Gratitude

We had an incident in the Counselling Department the other day.  A older gentleman was seen walking through the area without first going through the usual check in procedure at the front office.  In our security conscious school system, this is a cause for concern.  Our Department Head quickly made contact with the gentleman and as far as I knew the person had left the school.  Wrong.  On my way through the office later on, he appeared before me, seemingly anxious to talk to me.  I was a little concerned as his English was not fluent and I was not sure why  he would want to speak to me.   It turns out that his son and daughter had both been students of mine in years gone by.  His son had some difficulties with his credits as he had come to our school from the U.S.A.  I had worked with him to clear things up, gather all his credits and put him on a path toward earning a British Columbia Dogwood  high school diploma.  This had led to the son being eventually accepted into a prestigious university in Ontario.  He had also earned several scholarships.  The gentleman's daughter had done equally well.  The purpose of the impromptu visit to our Counselling office by the older gentleman was to express his gratitude to those of us on the counselling staff who had put in the time and effort to help his son and daughter at a time when their academic credentials were in need of clarification.  To us, it was all in a day's work.  To him and his family it meant everything and he simply had to come to see us personally to express his gratitude.  We ended our conversation by shaking hands.  He offered a deep bow to show his  respect as is the custom in Asia.  I offered my own somewhat awkward bow in return and with that we went our separate ways, both feeling a sense of accomplishment and gratitude.

Butterflies ...

No doubt most of our 1500 students are feeling a little nervous as thoughts turn away from summer activities and back to academic requirements and demands.  Counsellors are not immune to this nervous anticipation and are also feeling that familiar feeling in the pit of the stomach as we re-focus on the needs and wishes of our students.  Sometimes the biggest challenge right off the bat is remembering the bewildering array of passwords and computer commands that were so familiar just two months ago.  One more week before returning to work; another year is set to begin   After 29 years it still holds the same mixture of excitement and anticipation.