Many people think that education is all about preparing students for the world of work. While I believe we must provide them with the tools to be successful adults, education must include human values.
Schools provide a means to connect students with others so that they develop into caring adults. It is a place for students to be inspired in a culture of caring to think for themselves. A place where their curiousity is developed. A place where they can develop into confident, competent, creative, compassionate citizens, online and off who care about themselves and the world around them.
I love what the Dalai Lama had to say about Education,
”Education must go together with basic human values and teachers must set an example for their students through action and deeds, not merely by words. He further elaborated on this point by saying there is too much stress on developing the mind and too little on developing a ‘warm heart’.”
I want to develop that warm heart in every student who I encounter. I want to be an educator who helps students feel that they belong in a community where we respect them and they respect each other. I want students who bring skills into the world, to make a living and make a difference. My hope is that we inspire our youth to love learning throughout their lives. What is the purpose of education? I believe it is to assist students on a journey that will help them become better people, giving them the tools they will need to contribute to society and help our world become a better place for all.
Educating the mind, heart and soul.
“ To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground.”
Often times we do not take the time to celebrate what we do , so this can sometimes lead to the public not understanding our role. I would encourage all school counsellors to celebrate what you do all year long , not just during school counselling week.
Happy National School Counselling week my fellow US counsellors and Happy Canadian School Counsellor week to all my fellow Canadians. I hope School Counsellors from across the world will join us in collaborating Internationally.
Please take a look at some of the great things counsellors are doing to celebrate School Counselling:
I like this article by Patrick O’Connor Why You Should Celebrate School Counselling Week. In it he says that ” many principals think we should change schedules instead of lives”. I have been extremely fortunate in my career as a School Counsellor in that my principals have felt the exact opposite. They have definately believed that we should change lives instead of schedules. I know that may not be true for some of you and I am very hopeful that the perception of what School Counsellors actually do is changing and will impact the Future Of School Counselling in a positive way. I also believe many counsellors in our School District are very well trained when it comes to knowing how to help students apply for college. We also have excellent Career Practitioners in our District as well who assist us in this role.
This is a great audio broadcast celebrating School Counsellors with a supportive principal.
Another great article from a principals perspective on the role of the school counsellor.
Hope you are celebrating what you do every day . I have absolutely loved this career and would not change the choice of what I chose to do, but would love to see changes to the understanding and support of the role for the school counsellor. Please share all you do to support students. One life of a child is worth everything. We are fortunate to be able to make a difference every day. I am grateful to be working alongside my fantastic colleagues Peter Damen and Marc Osenton. Thanks for all you do for students and for making me want to go to work every day. I am honoured to work with you.
I have been very fortunate to work with and supervise great school counsellors. They teach me and I teach them. One tool that never gets old is the ability to reflect and Marc shares a few of his reflections on my blog. I know that he will have his own blog someday soon as he finishes up his Counselling degree. Listen as this new school counsellor reflects on his practice.
End of Semester Reflection
At this point in the semester, I am impressed at how much learning I have done and how much I have grown as a professional since the beginning of September. I would not have believed it if someone had told me before this semester how many situations and clients I would have worked with and survived. I am impressed with my ability to self-care, and how I am able to regulate my emotional responses. I have experienced anxiety and stress, but I am coping, as I am able to collaborate with my supervisor, reflect with classmates, and engage in my own healing activities. I actually feel less like an imposter and more like I belong in the profession.
However, despite my progress, I’m still aware of how far I have to go. I am still working on developing a conceptual map with each client, determining which theoretical models to add to my toolbox, and what actions I should take in given situations. More than anything, I still have work to do developing the instincts and comfort level required of experienced counsellors. I still make mistakes, and I am still very self-critical. I’ve hesitated, misjudged situations, and lost track of sessions. I still need to work on using my time with clients efficiently and purposefully. I’m optimistic – I’m working on improving, and have faith in my ability to grow. As long as I keep reflecting and pushing myself as a professional, I should improve.
Dual Relationships
This week’s focus on ethics drew attention to some interesting issues at my practicum site.
First, there are the concerns created by the dual roles school counsellors often are given. In schools, counsellors are often given teaching assignments, supervision duties, extracurricular commitments and administrative roles. In some cases, these dual roles can be performed without issue, even adding a positive dimension to the counsellor persona. However, despite this, counsellors still must guard against potential boundary issues, negative impacts upon therapeutic relationships, and confidentiality concerns. At my placement, my role as teacher advisor creates a dual relationship for any student in my ‘TA’ who wants to see me as a counsellor. I must be careful about the nature of my dual relationships with students and be mindful of it in the future.
Second, there are general confidentiality concerns present in schools. Teachers, administrators and parents often want information from counsellors that was given in confidence by students. Apart from cases of abuse or imminent harm, we are bound by our code of ethics to honour the privacy of our clients. That said confidentiality must be balanced by the need to protect our underage clients and by the rights of parents to be informed. This week has been a great start to discussion and reflection for the semester!
Self- Care
Self-care is a topic that all counsellors should have no difficulty reflecting upon, even as it may be easy to overlook. We all are guilty of behaviour that sacrifices our own well-being in favour of client needs, workplace demands, other life commitments, or general poor habits. A novice counsellor like myself is especially vulnerable. I am full of energy, keen to try new ideas, eager to meet the demands of my clients and workplace, and determined to measure up to my ambitious standards. Not only do I lack the experience to determine if my expectations and pace are plausible, but I haven’t had the experience to fully understand as a counsellor how to balance my life and take care of myself. Reminding us of the importance of self-care at this point of our practicum is well timed.
I need to improve my self-care in two different theatres – at work and away from work. At work, I need to take more breaks, leave my office, and connect with more staff. I need to rein in my ambitions and learn to reinforce boundaries and curtail expectations. I need to develop conceptual plans and reflect upon my practice to improve my delivery. I don’t feel overwhelmed at work, but the stress can add up. At home, I need to establish more regular self-care habits. I need to exercise more often and spend more time with friends and family. I enjoy spending time with my daughter, wife and dog, but I could reconnect with friends and family outside my home. I have been putting off certain tasks until I have completed my masters program, buy I need to rediscover hobbies and interests that I enjoy. Further, as illustrated by the ‘I need’ statements throughout, I need to temper my expectations of myself and celebrate my progress and accomplishments.
Hopefully, my career as a counsellor will be a long one. More than anything, I need to be patient.
I love that Marc is so reflective. We discuss his thoughts and concerns and each of us leaves learning something new.
This is a Self- care Haiku Deck that I created this week. In case your having a bad day I suggest you watch this video.
Thanks Katie for this view of the day. It epitomizes how I felt. SLAM.. I was scared ,but I felt the fear and did it anyway and I am so grateful I did .
A year filled with gratitude . That is what I want my year to look like and I am so grateful to these organizers. Watching what they did was AMAZING … INSPIRING … and so HELPFUL .
I am so grateful for all the gifts that ETMOOC has given me. As I reflect upon the year I think about all the wonderful people I have met and the things we have shared.
I am a life long learner and willing to take risks and here I am signing up for #etmooc. The tweet by @courosa from @fryed on, “What is #ETMOOC and why should you join us? ” is what finally convinced me to … just do it!!!
In one of my @haikudecks I said I would DO MORE in 2013 and here I am. Stepping out of my box and doing more.
A little nervous yes, (to be honest I was a lot nervous), but at least I am NOT going to be graded, I can just learn!! Yahoo!!! I love learning without being graded. I have had enough of that.
So in the next few months, I look forward to learning just for the sake of learning.
It is Alec Couros who inspired me to become interested in technology as much as I have and I am grateful. So thanks Alec. Here Alec is motivating me again … So my journey begins…
It is hard to believe it has been a year since I started thinking about should I or shouldn’t I take ETMOOC? Wow, am I glad I did. I think … no I know, I am more grateful now than I was then because I did not realize just how much I would learn as a result of being in ETMOOC. More importantly it would be about the connections I would make. No, even more important it would be about the friendships I would make and continue to develop.
An excerpt from my second post is very telling “ Today, January 20th a week into ETMOOC I needed to remind myself to find the positive as I was frustrated with learning how to use new information for importing media. Trust The Process. I will say that over and over to remain calm.”
I am a school counsellor and at that time I knew very little about tech tools and how to do a lot with the technology. At that time …
I had NEVER …
Blogged
Vlogged
Made YouTube videos. (I did not even have an account and now I can help students upload their videos.)
Given proper attribution, but now I do .
Curate information, but now I have over 100 livebinders and a zillion pinterest pins. Here is one live binder .
Attended an Edcamp and EdCamphome, but now I have .
Collaborated with a student on a post, but here it is .
Created a google doc, and now I can even add to one .
I hardly ever tweeted . I now have over 6,000 tweets (I knew very little about twitter then) Now; I can give workshops on how to understand twitter better. I even co-moderate twitter chats. Makes me laugh even writing this .
I did not know how to Google Hangout, but now I do regularly with educators from across the world.
There are so many skills that I have now, that it is even hard for me to believe I know how to do certain things technologically. My biggest smile comes when someone actually thinks I am a techy.
In another early post I finally recognize what my true purpose for being in #ETMOOC is…
“ In my attempt to assist students along their journey in life, I reach out attempting to make a difference. This jumping out of my box into the ED tech world is my way of touching the hearts of many students so that they can get the supports they need. Counselling is more than assisting a student in my office. It is reaching out to students on a more global scale. It is being able to use technology to reach and teach them. I will promise to use this process to educate from the heart using technology and all the tools ETMOOC gives me.”
This is still one of my favorite videos of the year:
“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us” Joseph Campbell
ETMOOC allowed me to be OPEN to new experiences, people and ideas. Well, I have certainly attempted to educate from the heart this year. I have:
Created several haiku decks for students and school counsellors.
Given a workshop on Digital Citizenship for all grade 10’s with the help of my colleagues. A special thanks to Peter Damen and Marc Osenton.
Helped to moderate our school twitter and facebook accounts.
Connected with countless educators and school counsellors.
Become a @HaikuDeck lover. Even got to visit Haiku Deck headquarters .
Created many vlogs in Openspokes and collaborated with fantastic educators.
So, how do you really thank someone especially you @Alec Couros who has taken you to places you were afraid to go? It isn’t easy, but I will try.
I think my way will be by paying it forward . My goal is to help as many school counsellors and others that I can to not be afraid. I have made many mistakes along this journey and I know I will continue to make them. Thanks to all the #ETMOOC’ers who helped me, showed me the way and continue to do so.
I am so grateful for my PLN. It is hard to put into words just how grateful I really am, but know that my heart is so full of gratitude it is overflowing and if we by chance get to meet F2F one day you will know because I will thank you in person.
Although my goal last year was to Do More . This year it will be to Do less with more ( this is easier said than done) , but I plan on staying focused on the things and the people that matter to me most. It is not that I will not be open to new experiences, people and ideas , I will. It is just that I need to say NO to some things and put my focus on those things that I remain passionate about.
So to end this post I want to create a vlog to thank you. I need to be ready which I am not right now. As I write this I cry happy tears thinking about all that all of you have done for me. No, even in my authenticity I will not create a vlog of me crying, so when I am ready I will make one just for you … that will come later, not sure when , but later.
I’d like to share some of the great posts you share in the next while so I will curate them in this live binder . Thanks for sharing and may 2014 fill you with great happiness and bring you all of life’s blessings and gifts that you are searching for. May ETMOOC keep giving to you, so please stay connected with the hashtag #etmooc.
My last thought to share with you is tthat I hope one day that we will create a conference F2F called EveryoneTogether Massive Open Onsite Conference. Are you with me ETMOOC ‘ers? ? I’ll be retired in a few years and would be happy to help organize such a conference, but will need lots of help. Let’s start thinking and planning so that we can meet as many ETMOOC ‘ers face to face as possible.
It’s been quite a year and I have received so many gifts from you , so again thanks to all of you for so much fun and inspiration especially:
@AlecCouros (without whom the giving of his time, energy, kindness and support while on sabbatical #ETMOOC would not have happened)
@fryed ( if I hadn’t seen your post maybe I would never have signed up)
@AlisonSeaman (got to meet F2F and she is as positive as she is online)
@JeffMerrell (for always being so encouraging and engaging)
@ehordyskiluong (for being by my side through all the ups and downs of learning and being so excited with me when we caught onto something new oh … you know the rest …)
@dendari (for always commenting, helping, sharing and being an #ooe13 leader and #openspokes team mate)
@grammasheri (for being such an amazing woman. I always love what you share. I can’t wait to meet you some day)
@verenanz (for being so inspirational , you are such a go getter and helper)
@valerielopes (for all her encouragement )
@clhendricksbc (for posting her first video and giving me the courage to do the same. Look how far we have come. You amaze me)
@rljessen (so happy we got to meet F2F after so many google hangouts We are creating a great friendship online and off. Thanks to the Post ETMOOC Group for hanging out and reading and sharing blogs. We have learned so much together Christina Hendricks @clhendricksbc , Karen Young @karenatsharon, Kirsten @KirstenTP and Erin Luong @ehordyskiluong )
@SISQITMAN (for all your thoughtful and kind comments … you kept me writing . Always love what you have to say . Thank you!)
@bhwikkoff (for creating OPENSPOKES and being such a great leader. We have helped each other learn and grow)
and all the openspokers Jeremy Inscho, Brendan Murphy, JoeDillon , Jas Kooner, Gallit Zvi, Sheri Edwards, Denise Krebs and Erin Luong
@tina_p ( for always connecting , being so positive and always making me smile. Love the Australian Connections @ActivateLearn)
@JudyArzt ( for letting me try out one of my first GH with her even though she did not know me)
@amyburvall (for all your creativity and positive energy and letting me join you in a crowdsourced video )
@debbiefuco @jacbalen @folynick @whitneykilgore (for sharing and commenting and always being so positive in your interactions with me)
and to @djsamson for always posting great things in #ETMOOC maybe we will connect in Halifax some day.
To end thanks to all the presenters . YOU WERE FANTASTIC!
Alan Levine @Cogdog thanks for gathering all our blog posts to share and read.
Quoting Dave Cormier: “If we make community the curriculum, membership becomes how we scale. It’s all about belonging.”
Resources help and these new videos by Dr. Erin Mason will be invalueable to those new to technology. Take a look. It will undoubtedly get you started on a journey that will be extremely helpful for you and your students. School Counsellors, these are for you :
SCCrowd is School Counsellors wanting to help each other and learn from those who are not school counsellors. It is also for educators from around the world who want to collaborate with other school counsellors to make a difference in the lives of students. That is what #SCCrowd is really all about. Ross Wolfson @rawolfson, a High School Counsellor created the hashtag and idea for #SCCrowd. He wanted to find a way for school counsellors to learn from and with each other.
There were already several great chats on twitter for school counsellors , but Ross wanted one that was just a little different . Hence the idea for #SCCrowd
The inaugural chat was held for #SCCrowd on November the 19th.
We held the first Q&A Day on #SCCrowd and were very pleased with the great turnout! Check out the transcript of the chat . After the first chat Ross and I were planning for the second chat so we collaborated to discuss ideas for a haiku deck and what we wanted people to know about #SCCrowd and this is the SCCrowd Haiku Deck that was created. Now on to Chat #2
Time for Q&A Day 2.0!
Here’s an explanation of how it works: Are you a school counselor from around the world ? Then we want to share with you.
School counselors, school counseling interns, and aspiring school counselors…
Do you ever ask yourself, “What resources could help me with my initiative?” or, “How would someone else have handled that situation?” or even, “Is there anyone else dealing with the same challenge that I am?”
School counseling and other educational professionals…
Do you have knowledge that can help school counselors? Do you know of great resources or have inspirational experiences to share?
Then please Join us for Q&A Day on #SCCrowdon Tuesday, December 17th!
Using the hashtag #SCCrowd, ask a question that is inspired by something from your day (or anything else that might be on your mind). When you leave work for the day, check out #SCCrowd and see if you have an answer or follow-up to someone’s question.
Thenfrom 6:30-7:30 MST and 8:30-9:30 PM EST Tuesday night, join for a live chat on #SCCrowd to help answer questions that haven’t been addressed yet.
Get answers to your questions and help others out there in the School Counselor Crowd! Ask a question, share and answer, join the chat. Anyway you participate can help you grow your PLN!
Q&A Day on #SCCrowd – All dayon Tuesday, December 17th
Sponsored by School Counselor Crowdsourcing – @SCCrowd
Live Chat on #SCCrowd 8:30-9:30 PM EST, moderated by @rawolfson & @SSpellmanCann
Again we were pleased with the turnout for the second #SCCrowd on December the 17th. Here is transcript 2 .
We really hope more school counsellors and educators from across the world will join us. This is a way we can collaborate with you and who knows what impact this will have on our professional development and most importantly the positive impact it will have on our students. Looking forward to seeing you in the CROWD #SCCrowd that is.
FYI: If you notice we interchangeably use counsellor with 2 LL ’s and counselor with one L , here is why :
Engaging the students and staff is critical when it comes to school counselling. There are many ways to engage the students whether it is one to one or in groups. At the end of every session I check in with the student to see how the session went. I will often ask something like how are you feeling about what we talked about and did in session today? What is the one thing you will use as a result of our time together? This allows me to gage if I have been helpful and if there is something I said that the student connected with.
It is also very important to develop relationships with your staff. If they feel you are helpful they will most likely refer a student to you. We are all working together to enhance the success of all students so if students see us collaborating in their best interest while always maintaining confidentiality we will best be able to help them.
Engaging Staff. Get to know your staff. Take time to have lunch with them. It is good for you to take a break and get out of your office. Assisting students can be very draining at times especially if you are addressing more serious issues, so get out of your office and make time to recharge. Self- Care is important.
What are your ideas for student and staff engagement ? Please share below.
“The basic assumption of SDL is that from birth to death, we live lives of learning: we first learn to function, then to live well, and finally to make a difference. Maurice Gibbons
What’s going on inside the building of Bishop Carroll is not only exciting, but innovative, educational and engaging. Not only are the halls of Bishop Carroll High School buzzing, but inside the offices of several educators learning is taking place.
Bishop Carroll High School , the oldest SDL school ( over forty years) is a part of the Canadian Coalition of Self- Directed Learning.
Bishop Carroll works together with other members of the coalition to improve the self-directed experience of all the learners. These schools meet together on an ongoing basis as well as convene at a yearly conference to look at ways of improving the model for students.
As a staff member in a self-directed school I have never been in a school where so much focus and dialogue on instruction takes place on a regular basis. In fact, our staff has biweekly professional development meetings to ensure that we are able to collaborate on best practices and share new ideas. Teachers are continually focusing on how they can make things better for students in a self-directed learning environment.
This past week I attended the Canadian Coalition of Self- Directed Learning Conference in Edmonton. While I love learning about ways to improve what we do, I so love connecting with other educators face to face.
What are conferences about for me?
Celebrating: For me the best part of CCSDL conference is the students and what they gain from attending a SDL school. I loved the opening ceremony which celebrated students. It was very moving and reminded me of why I do what I do.
Here are some great videos from some SDL schools :
Connecting with our staff as well as others: Often times I am so busy with my day I get very little time to connect with other staff members. Conferences can be a time to do just that wind down and connect. I had so much fun with the thirteen people who attended the whole conference from my school. We laughed, had fun, shared and connected. I know this experience will assist us in being better at what we do in our school. We now have some great shared experiences that we would not have otherwise.
Twitter also allows me to connect with other great educators who work in SDL schools. A special thanks to @EricDemore for tracking me down . We had a great conversation and I look forward to staying connected. Also thanks to my new SDL twitter pals @CarmenGartner and @mrs_haddad
Collaborating: I was able to share ideas with staff from other schools as well as my own. I am sending this out on a google doc so that as many as want to can contribute at a later date.
Continually Learning: I have yet to attend a conference where I am not able to take back some ideas and use them. This conference was no exception. I loved some of the ideas that came from attending Garfield_Gini-Newman.
Collecting Resources: one of the absolute benefits of attending a conference is the resources you get and I love this resource from twitter:
A gigantic thanks to St. Joe’s for their books and treats and so much fun! I know how hard it is to organize a conference and you were all amazing. Kudos to you all for the hard work and allowing us to have such a great time.
Being a Connected Educator has changed the way I think about education and has helped me understand the lives of our students in a completely different way.
Nine months ago I was not a Connected Educator, but I wanted to grow professionally so I took the plunge and took a Massive Open Online Course called ETMOOC. That changed everything.
I felt if I wanted to understand the world that our students live in then I too must learn what it is like. So for the last nine months I have entered into the connected online world and opened up a whole new world of learning for myself and the students I serve. Every time I am connected with others online I come away with new ideas and resources to share.
For anyone who feels they are too old to do this, I hope I serve as an example. I started teaching in 1980 and I can still say that I LOVE what I do. Being a Connected Educator has helped me stay passionate about teaching and learning .
I believe it has helped me be a better school counsellor as now I can connect with other school counsellors #scchat #cscchat from around the world and we can learn together. As a result of being a Connected Educator I am more open and want to serve as one model for positive Digital Citizenship for our students.
Thanks to all of you who have shared your experiences, resources and optimistic attitude with me. This thanksgiving I am very grateful for you.
Counsellor Talk : Connecting with those who want to make a difference. 