National School Counseling Week 2012 will be celebrated from February 6-10 to focus public attention on the unique contribution of professional school counselors within U.S. school systems. National School Counseling Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association, highlights the tremendous impact school counselors can have in helping students achieve school success and plan for a career.
The school counselors of my kids’ school district are awesome. My husband and I have gone to them several times for help and they have always stepped up.
The first time was when my son was in second grade. At the time my mother and father had moved into our home while she received palliative care for pancreatic cancer. My house was Grand Central Station as my brothers and sisters rotated through from their homes in other parts of the country. We thought my son was doing great handling all the chaos at home. Little did we know his frustration was just going underground. When his teacher expressed concern, I made a bee line to his school counselor. Right away I knew my son was in good hands. Together with the school psychologist, she was able to give him the opportunity to process his anger through play therapy.
When my daughter was in middle school and she ran into a Mean Girl situation with her “so-called” girlfriends, we went together to her counselor for guidance. Her counselor ignored me (which was weird at first) and focused on my daughter. She was heard, taken seriously, validated, all that good stuff. The counselor didn’t stop there. She helped my daughter come up with a plan to assertively and safely confront her tormentors. My daughter learned how to stand up for herself and, as importantly, that asking for help is not a weakness.
Fast forward a few years… My son’s high school guidance counselor made a huge difference in lowering our anxiety level when it came to the college application process. When my son was accepted by early decision to his top choice college, without my saying anything, his first email was to Mr Gervase thanking him for his help.
I can’t say enough about how I respect school counselors and psychologists everywhere. They are professionals who deal skillfully with every possible scenario, from the simple to the brutally complex. They work hard to guide our children to be their personal best during very tough times.
Thank you school counselors!
