I have been going to school almost every September for the past 53 years. When I reflect on that I can hardly believe it myself. This year as I focus on all the joy each day brings me, I am also going to reflect on my retirement year. The lasts …
The last time I will enter a building as a full-time educator . This awesome responsibility never eludes me. I know I can be the person who makes a difference in a child’s life. I will meet so many new students this year, many who will teach me great lessons. I look forward to that.
I also recognize that teaching and counselling takes great courage and energy. Often after a full week I feel like the pic above and need to rejuvenate for the week ahead. Weekends are a time for self-care and reflection so that the week ahead is exciting not only for the students , but for me as well.
I also recognize that each day requires me to challenge myself to focus on the positive while acknowledging that challenges will always occur along the way. It is up to me to not sweat the small stuff. Although I will never feel the anxiety I felt my first days of teaching “don’t sweat the small stuff “, still applies as much today as it did then.
I need to take each day as it comes and enjoy the moments. I must say easier to do as I have grown as a person and as an educator over the past years. Do I still fall short ? You bet. This is a life skill that is easy to say , but not always easy to master.
This will be my last first week of school … How did you feel your first week back to school?
People have been asking me if I am really serious about retirement and yes I am , but that doesn’t mean I don’t really love my job anymore . I absolutely do. I plan on making this year great! Why? Because each and every day I work with students and what I say and do matters.
I am far from perfect, but I really try my best to help students and create a positive environment in the school I work in. I love collaborating with educators and others that I know truly care.
I am often reminded that what I say and do matters and that is a scary and awesome responsibility. I never want to hurt a child or anyone for that matter, but I am human and I make mistakes . When I do I need to say sorry , make amends and do my best each and every day to be the best person I can be. I also recognize that I can be that one person who changes the trajectory of a students life , making a positive difference that they remember for a lifetime.
Does what you say and do matter? … you bet. Students are watching us daily … so as I enter my retirement year I want my students to know that I love what I do and will continue to do so until the day I retire. I love being with them and helping them as much as I possibly can. I look forward to this year and will treasure the memories I make with each and every person that crosses my path.
What I Say and Do Matters … and so does what you say and do.
It’s summer time and I know I should be resting and believe me I do ! I have so much inside of me that I want to share that it is sometimes hard to know where to begin, but for today I’ll share what has been on my mind. I have been following ASCA’s twitter #ASCA16 feed over the past few days as I was unable to go this year. A couple of reflections come to mind.
Gratitude … Collaborating with others has brought the passion of what I love to do to the forefront. I am so grateful that I connected to @ecmmmason and #scchat only a few short years ago . Yes, #scchat was the first School Counsellor hashtag I followed and it has changed everything . Thank you Danielle Schultz and Erin Mason. I got and still get so much inspiration from seeing and getting help from all those who posted to the hashtag. I know that is why I am so passionate about others joining in with us as we collaborate this fall on a joint venture. See more here School Counsellors Collaborating as Leaders Worldwide. I care about the future of School Counsellors and School Counselling. I want to give back and so I continue to engage with others who are as passionate as I am.
Refirement not retirement.Yes, I am retiring next year, but I want to go out making it my best year ever. I still really love what I do. I am retiring because it is time to. Time to refocus and engage my energies in other directions, but for now I will stay focused on the present and possibilities. I am very excited about all the new ventures I will be taking on next school year.
Supervise and mentor a new School Counsellor ( I have been doing this for years ). My way to give back while continuing to learn.
October
Start a Ted X Youth Club with my fabulous colleague Amy Webster @AmyNoraWebster . We look forward to the many wonderful things our students will create.
Working with Empowering Minds EMLeadership and the most fabulous Cleopatra to create Leadership opportunities for students.
Continue to work and create ideas with Connex support.
Sept. to June
Continue to work with students to develop ideas around anti. bullying #whosfrankyyc #carrollculture . Click here for more information.
Continue to refine and work on our book Colour Your Way To A Healthy Mind : High School Students Creating Change Would love to find a publisher . Anyone interested?
Really there are so many possibilities. This is an amazing time in education and these are but a few things I plan on doing in my retirement 2016-2017 school year. Over the summer you may want to consider giving to the Mario Couros Bursary . It is because of the gratitude we in #etmooc feel and it will help a future educator!
To all of you who take the time to read my blog may your summer be filled with gratitude, ideas and opportunities as well as time to enjoy your family and friends. Rest,relax and rejuvenate! I plan to . Hitting the beach very soon!
We chose this profession. It is the best profession ever. All professions have struggles. Focus on the positive. Work towards making things better by being an advocate for other School Counsellors. Join your professional organization, have a voice on twitter and /or write a blog celebrating all the amazing things that happen in our profession.
Self care is so important to what we do. We can’t help others if we don’t help ourselves.
Embrace your professionalism. You were trained well. Be ethical. Consult, consult consult.
Model a positive attitude towards work each and everyday.Your students will notice and feel it when you set the tone in your school and in your offices.
Be a good digital citizen. Be authentic , but if you need to vent do so privately and with colleagues in counselling who understand. Never vent online.
Connecting and collaborating makes us better at what we do. Collaboration has made me better at what I do. It actually makes the work I do easier. Share , connect and collaborate. It will make you a better professional.
Passion and purpose help our students. If we wake up with the mindset that we have an awesome responsibility to help others today knowing that each and everyday we have an opportunity to make a difference. We don’t always see the fruits of our labour , but that’s ok because we know that the small things we do can have a huge impact.
You are you. Be the best version of yourself. Don’t get caught up in comparing yourself to any other School Counsellor. Continually focus on professionally developing yourself so that you impact students in a positive way.
Live every day One Day At a Time. Easy to say , not easy to do. Focus all of your energies on making this the best day ever. Just for today I will … laugh.
Maintain gratitude for the work that we do. Being gratefulfor what we do rather than focusing on the things that we are not happy about is always a great state of mind. We chose this profession. I am grateful everyday that I did.
“Be passionate, fall madly in love with life. Be passionate about some part of the natural and/or human worlds and take risks on its behalf, no matter how vulnerable they make you.” … “Offer yourself to the world — your energies, your gifts, your visions, your heart — with open-hearted generosity.” – Parker Palmer
Our students are passionate when it comes to mental health and wellness. They continue to work diligently when it comes to mental health and anti.stigma spreading messages of hope. All year they have continuued to do things that make a difference. Finally due to the generosity of Gary Nissen and Empowering minds … Connex we were able to produce this lovely colouring book for all to enjoy! Every year partial proceeds will go to a different chaity, but this year students chose the Children’s Hospital mental health unit.
Thanks so much to all those who collaborated with the wellness team to make this a very special project. Our photography , spectrum and who’s frank clubs. All know the importance of reducing stigma. raising awareness and improving overall wellness. We hope you have fun , relax and enjoy this students led project that is meant to touch your heart and make a difference. So let go, de-stress be as creative as you want . We hope you will be inspired to design your own colouring page while thinking about the messages that matter from our students.
School Counsellors Education Leaders Follow us on Twitter #SCCrowd and #scchat
As School Counsellors who are educational leaders on twitter, we should first and foremost be professional. Everything on-line is public. Act as if it always is even if your privacy settings give you the illusion that it is private.
This is a place and a space to connect with other educators and School Counsellors from across the world. It is a place that you can learn from others by growing your Personal Learning Network (PLN).
It is also a place where you can eventually collaborate with others making a difference in your school and in your community.
Share your resources!!! This is a place to share some of the great resources that you or others create, but also a place to get amazing resources that can impact the way you help your students.
Follow and share blog posts of those people you respect.
Twitter is an amazing space to share the wisdom of others. You can post or create your own quotes.
Celebrate others. I think we should consider celebrating colleagues on a regular basis. There are so many people who surround us that are doing amazing things and all too often are not recognized for the fabulous things they do and the positive impact they have on others. So celebrate others today … celebrate them often.
Thank those that help you.
Retweet inspiring ideas.
Live and let live. You aren’t going to agree with everything and everyone, but you can be the kind of leader you want to be. Find great leaders, and follow them.
Help others get started on twitter. You recognize how much it has helped you . So pay it forward.
TO DO ON TWITTER:
Always be appropriate and professional and use common sense in what you share.
Surround yourself with positive people just like you do in real life.
Relationships are key on twitter , use the reply( @____ the name of the person) to have discussions , ask questions and share ideas and resources with others.
Be a positive leader. In order to teach students to be good citizens ( digitalcitizens we need to model that every day) .
Listen and learn from the great educators and people around the world.
Act as if everything you say is heard by every student and family you have ever taught or worked with.
Be real , be yourself.
You can develop great friendships on twitter. Like in real life, use all the skills you have to meet people who enrich and enhance your life.
Think about the kind of legacy you want to leave.
NOT TO DO ON TWITTER
Never ever share confidential information , even if it looks disguised.
Never ever talk about others in a negative way.
Never say or do anything that goes against who you truly are.
If you are new to twitter check out this check list .
Thanks to @gcouros yet again for the inspiration. As George says don’t use profanity. You would not use it in the classroom, so don’t use it online. A lot of what I have said can be applied to Facebook as well. So think before you post applies to all of us who use social media. Social media should be used to learn, share and grow as well as a way to have a positive impact on the world. I look forward to reading your tweets.
As School Counsellors we need to be leaders in celebrating what students do as well as what we do for students.
The past month has been a wonderfully busy month for us at school. It started off with our Who’s Frank #whosfrankyyc bake sale and the elephant in the room.
A big thanks to our Principal and fabulous leader @neilof12 who truly helped spread the anti. bullying message by being Frank.
Then came our Mental Health symposium again run by student leaders who I am always in awe of and so proud of the work they do.
A special thanks to @courosa for joining us virtually and to @brettrothery for sharing his courageous story.
We are also partners with Mount Royal University so I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on sexual violence. Such an important topic !
Thanks for coming Verena and bringing your husband. Community members who care!
So School Counsellors celebrate. Share what it is you do because together we are better and can make a difference.
I look forward to you seeing the book we have collaborated in creating ColourYourWayTo AHealthyMindHigh School Students Creating Change. Coming soon to BCHS as well as our book made with grade 3’s Adventures of Frank at St. James. We can’t wait to share them with you.
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. It is hard to believe three years has passed since ETMOOC. I personally have learned so much in the last three years thanks to my ETMOOC PLN and especially Alec Couros. How do you thank someone who has made such a difference ? For us in ETMOOC it was by helping to create something that will hopefully make a difference for Alec, his family as well as future educators.
According to Harvard Social Psychologist Amy Cuddy people judge you on two criteria when they first meet you .
Can I trust this person?
Can I respect this person?
Alec Couros@courosa has earned the trust and respect of so many , but especially those of us in ETMOOC and as a result we wanted to do something special for him. Thus the Mario Couros Memorial Bursary .
Please take time to read the criteria below and if you feel like you too want to thank Alec by contributing to an award that honours him and his dad who meant the world to him, then please do so. Several of us plan to work hard this year to promote and get others to contribute to this award and we hope YOUwill join us.
About the award :
The Mario Couros Memorial Bursarywill help newcomers to Canada in reaching their dream of being one of tomorrow’s educators by providing financial assistance to pursue their Education Degree at the University of Regina. Mario came to Canada from Greece on December 14th 1957. He lived, worked and raised his family in Saskatchewan. He wanted to make a life and a difference for his family. Mario was a volunteer, a caring supportive father, grandfather, a loving husband and an extremely hard working man. He was a great role model for his children and others as he continued to be a lifelong learner with a fabulous work ethic until his passing. This award is dedicated in his memory.
It is also a tribute to his son Dr. Alec Couros who continues his father’ s legacy by inspiring and encouraging others to pursue their educational aspirations and follow a path to life-long learning.
The bursary will make a meaningful impact by breaking down the financial barriers to higher education and encouraging outstanding academic achievement. By contributing to this bursary you will enable Education students to focus on what matters most : their education.
The goal is to raise $ 25.000 to create an endowment that will allow for a permanent bursary at the University of Regina ‘s Faculty of Education. Your contribution to the Mario Couros Memorial Bursary will live on in perpetuity in memory and honour of Mario’s legacy.
Enter your donation information and click add to gift basket.
Please ensure you enterMario Couros under the second tab and continue to payment
If you would like any assistancewith contributing please contact Erin Werner at 1-306-585-5432 or erin.werner@uregina.ca . Those from other countries may wish to do so if they have difficulty contributing. If you need a paper copy just email her.
You too can help ! Consider letting other educators know they can contribute to this important fund. Each contribution can and will make a difference. Alec has 99.5k followers . If each person following @courosa donated $ 1.00 we would have more than we need to keep this fund alive and help young people who want to be educators.
A very special thank you to all those in ETMOOC that have volunteered to promote this fund and all those who have already committed to contributing. I am so grateful for you . Kindness flows in ETMOOC ‘ers
I look forward to many more years of connecting , growing and learning with all of you. I think my heart is bigger today because of all of you.
Have you or someone you know been impacted by @courosa or @gcouros ? You may want to really consider contributing. This post yesterday by @gcouros on “Has twitter changed our view?” is very thoughtful and thought provoking. Twitter has most certainly changed mine for the positive. #lifechanging #friendshipsIneverwouldhaveimagined #grateful
REMINDER:
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE ! Truly think about donating, even if only a small amount and pass this on to someone who you think would contribute. TOGETHER we are better!
Please consider blogging about this award and sharing on twitter , facebook and google plus . YOU too can help to make a difference. Thanking you in advance. There truly are so many good people in the world and if you have taken time to read this blog post to the end and contribute. I know you are one of them.
Please let us know you have contributed by either DM ing me at @sspellmancann or by posting in the comments section so we can acknowledge YOU!
Digital leaders are those who build others up. They are those who help other educators/people along their journey.
Digital leaders:
Know that when you help someone else you help yourself.
Are those who are not afraid to make a mistake and continually learn. You don’t need to be in the front lines to do that, you just need to share your experience and know that others have so much to teach you.
Are responsible digital citizens themselves and demonstrate this so that students and other learners can know what this truly means.
Every person has an opportunity to be helpful … every person has an opportunity to collaborate … to make a difference … to celebrate the good works of others (student, teachers, parents, community members) … to be a digital leader means to learn and be a responsible digital citizen yourself. To truly care enough to enter the digital world so that you can as Alec Couros says “think together” and I would add learn together. It is never too late to learn to be a good digital leader yourself.
CC image by Catherine Cronin
School Counsellors are in an amazing position to be digital leaders to help students and others know the importance of digital citizenship . At BCHS we start every year with a grade 10 retreat where the School Counsellors present on Digital Citizenship . Throughout the year we discuss digital citizenship through our School twitter feed as well as through our Facebook pages. We ask students if we can use their pictures before we publish making sure they have signed the required consent. There are many great School Counsellors who are digital leaders . Just check out the hashtags #SCCrowd and #scchat.
We want our students to be excellent digital citizens, but we know that takes time , effort , patience and great role modelling by all staff and educators in general.
Fortunately I know many great digital leaders (too many to list here) which is a great thing , however I will list a few if you are just getting started :
Technology is a very important part of students lives today and will be even more prevalent in the future. School Counsellors can find a way to incorporate exciting new practices into their School Counselling programs. These changes can inspire not only their students , but the School Counsellors themselves.
IF I CAN YOU CAN TOO
I’ve been asked by Dr. Chris Schimmel @doc_schimmel an outstanding Counselor Educator to present to future School Counsellors on the use of technology. I love technology and think it is essential to future School Counsellors. Why? Because it allows us to connect with students in their space as well as allows us an opportunity to connect to the whole school population. Of course there will always be a place and a space for meeting and connecting with students individually, but it is also extremely important to reach as many students as possible and that can be done through the use of technology.
Technology also allows us to develop a PLN with people from all around the world. In my opinion this is one of the best ways to connect with not only School Counsellors who are passionate, but also with other educators who use technology to assist them in improving and reflecting on what it is they do for students. Dr. Erin Mason @ecmmmason my friend is an amazing leader when it comes to School Counsellors utilizing and creating ideas with technology.
So, University of West Virginia Counseling students this blog post is for you. I look forward to meeting , connecting and sharing and helping you in the Google Hangout organized by your professor Dr. Chris Schimmel.
The rest of this blog will be about the resources I think School Counsellors can use that make a difference.
#1 is Twitter so I encourage you to get an account today. It will transform your life and the life of your future students if used properly. Twitter is where it all began for me and then ETMOOC changed the way I offered parts of my School Counselling program. A special thanks to Alec Couros @courosa Ed tech professor extraordinaire and social media expert at the University of Regina. You will want to follow him and his brother George @gcouros a leader and fabulous Administrator on twitter.
Advantages of twitter:
It allows for opportunities to connect, collaborate, share and learn from and with people from all over the world.
I have used Twitter and Google docs to collaborate with other School Counsellors and educators who have wanted to contribute to Mental Health in High School as well as many other projects.
Using the hashtags #SCCrowd and #scchat as well as some other great chats allows us to connect with School Counselling professionals who are more than willing to help us as we continue to work with and make a difference for students.
The instant anytime access allows me to get information or resources that I can utilize in an open manner which not only helps me , but may help others.
It also allows us a voice for reaching out to others to let them know that what we do matters.
This post has had 9,458 people who have seen it in two days. Social media can reach people quickly.
If you’d like to start to follow and share on #SCin30 you too can have a voice. We’d love to know what you think as a future School Counsellor. Pose a question and answer it. Then share and we can learn from you.
Twitter allows you as a School Counsellor to share and help other School Counsellors, School Counselling students and educators.
If you want to learn more about School Counsellors observe their twitter accounts. Please follow them using the hashtags above and you’ll get a good sense of how you too can be a positive digital citizen and model this for your future students.
Ask for help. Other School Counsellors and educators are always willing to help you. If you have questions or concerns please do not hesitate to ask.
One of the best ways you can find the best tech tools to use as a School Counsellor is to check out SCOPE School Counselor Online Professional Exchange. Spend some time there. It will be worth your time and effort.
#2 Haiku Deck As a School Counsellor you will have to give presentations or you may wish to share ideas or messages with students that you think are important. Haiku Deck @haikudeck is my number one go to app. It has a creative commons license built within the app that allows a visual experience that is like none other.
Below you can see some of my haiku decks that I have used to share with School Counsellors and students.
The power of social media to touch others is absolutely amazing. This simple @haikudeck on Who Matters? has had 79,769 views . One never knows the impact a simple gesture can have online and off.
#3 Livebinders I love to use livebinders to organize and share useful School Counselling information. At Bishop Carroll High School we use livebinders to share large amounts of important information with students in a single space.
Here are two of our livebinders co-created by our School Counselling team Erin Luong @ehordyskiluong , Peter Damen and I :
There are so many benefits for using smores. You can find a few ideas here.
Here is our Welcome to Student Services smore. It is an excellent way to share information with your future students , parents and staff. Also it is an amazing tool for gathering ideas to present to students as you can see in our personal wellbeing livebinder section .
#5 iMovie / YouTube I use iMovie more and more to present to students information that I think will be helpful to them. Dean Shareski , a Canadian educator said once and it has stayed with me video trumps text, so I try to use video as much as possible to create information students can relate to and then upload the iMovie to YouTube. I do this all on my iPhone which makes things very easy for me.
Here are two iMovies , one I made and one our students made as part of our student led wellness team.
Ten Things You Should Stop Doing: Notice the attribution to Haiku Deck at the bottom of the movie which you should always do . Give attribution that is. That is where people can see where the pictures come from and who to attribute them to.
Blogs are a great tool to create, connect and learn from others. For me creating blogs still requires a great deal of effort as I am still learning, but today’s example is a great way of sharing information with others from far away. I started my blog in May of 2013. It has had 15,113 views from 105 countries.
#7 Google docs are an amazing way to collaborate. I collaborate with our students on our Wellness committee and our Who’s Frank? team. Here are two google docs that you can collaborate on and I hope you do:
Pinterest does indeed inspire creativity . I have used it for many things including creating School Counselling bulletin boards as well as for ideas for presentations.
#9 Google hangouts
Again, yet another great way to connect with School Counsellors and educators from across the world.
For more ideas of why technology is important for you check here.
You can see that I use multiple tools in multiple ways to help me do a variety of things that help not only School Counsellors , but students as well. Three years ago I did not know how to do any of this so … if I can you can too.
CC image by Catherine Cronin
Counsellor Talk : Connecting with those who want to make a difference. 