School counselors who have been dreading teaching career awareness...I have good news for you! Teaching career exploration does NOT have to be boring! With the right story books and resources, it's actually super engaging and fun! As you know, college and career readiness is one of our three main areas of focus as school counselors. I like to say that college starts in kindergarten, and teaching career awareness from an early age is absolutely critical. Working at a Title I school with a ... VIEW POST
Career Exploration for Elementary Learners
Bullying Prevention Story Books
"He's bullying me!" As educators, this is something that we hear all.of.the.time, but how often is the behavior actually bullying? This word is thrown around so casually, and so frequently, that one-time, mean choices are often labeled as "bullying." My fear here is that real bullying behaviors may go unnoticed or undetected, while educators and parents overwhelm themselves with small, no-big-deal issues that children can solve themselves. This can have very serious, even life-threatening, ... VIEW POST
End of Year School Counseling
A few years ago, a 4th-grade student I had worked with regularly since kindergarten sulked into my office. Her head was down and her arms were crossed. I could tell she had been crying. She had just created a memory book with her classroom teacher when it suddenly hit her: elementary school was really over. Among other big changes on her horizon, she realized that her daily hugs and weekly check-ins with me, her school counselor, were coming to an end. I was "her person" at school, and our ... VIEW POST
Teaching Growth Mindset
Growth mindset, for good reason, has become one of the biggest buzz words and theories in education today. The concept comes from Dr. Carol Dweck's studies of thousands of children and their attitudes towards failure. In her research, Dr. Dweck noticed that, when faced with failure, some children felt devastated and helpless, and quickly gave up. Other children, on the other hand, seemed to bounce back, learn from their mistakes, and move forward with optimism and hope. So, what is the ... VIEW POST
