Alex Trabek, I am not.

Every week, I get to enter an SAT prep class to teach a lesson about college searching, financial aid, career orientation, etc.  While it is awesome to get into the class and teach, sometimes I don't know how effective my interventions are.  Here comes the data and assessment!  I have used surveys to measure the students' perceived comfort on various topics.  We've had open conversations about what other topics they want to cover.  They presented college profiles to their classmates to show their own understanding while teaching and exposing each other to new college options.  Today, I wanted to make the assessment process a little more fun.

I created a simple "Jeopardy"-style game to bolster some friendly competition amongst the students.  Though I didn't capture specific data on the topics addressed within the game, the students' excitement, answers, and engagement told me that they have developed an understanding for the topics we've covered.  (whoa, that was a wordy sentence...)  Regardless, I thought this was a cool way to measure their understanding of key concepts regarding college and financial aid.  Though this group focuses specifically on college-going/access, I can imagine using a Jeopardy-style lesson to measure understanding regarding bullying, financial aid, high school requirements, etc in the future.

What to test your knowledge about the SAT, financial aid, and college seeking (and a hint of Mr. H trivia)?  Follow the link here.

Conference Anticipation: How one intern/graduate student/job-seeker prepares.

The Maryland School Counselor Association's annual conference is scheduled for this coming Friday.  In late February, I got an email calling for graduate student volunteers.  The conference organizers wanted four graduate volunteers to monitor the presentation rooms, hand out session evaluations, etc.  As a personal rule, I try to not miss any opportunities for professional engagement so I responded and was offered one of the volunteer spots.  I am particularly excited to attend the MSCA Conference because it will be great practice for the American School Counselor Association's National Conference in July where I will be speaking about my advocacy projects and internship experience as a member of a graduate student panel.

Description of my group's presentation at the ASCA National Conference- Scheduled for July 2nd (1:30pm-2:45pm)

With all these conferences coming up, there are a few ways for people like me, graduate students/interns/counseling-position-seekers to prepare.  Here is how I plan to network and present myself professionally:

1.  "Get a haircut, Hippie!"
Okay- I can grow a beautiful mane fit for horse or a Dothraki (I've been watching a lot of "Game of Thrones" lately...), but sometimes I just have to suck it up and keep that mop cropped, short, professional and neat.

Now, my hair wasn't this long... but I just felt the need to give some historical reference of how big my hair can get.  Sophomore year of high school.

The day after my haircut, I couldn't walk down a hallway at my internship without student/teacher/administrators telling me how much better my hair looked... Point:  Dylan, keep the hair professional.

2.  What to wear?
As a counseling conference newbie, I had no idea what to wear... do I go all the way and wear my suit or do a pair of khakis and a button up suffice?  I thought I needed a little back-up here and reached out to my professor who is the former director of counseling for a very large school district in the Southwest.  Here suggestion:

"Typically you would dress up a little more if you were presenting – dress slacks and a jacket.  Most conference attire is business casual – a nice pair of slacks and shirt.  The east coast conferences tend to have higher dress standards than the west coast.  You will be pretty safe if you wear dress slacks, but you may find that some conference attendees are in jeans.  You will see a wide array of clothing choices at ASCA J "

Thanks for the help, Professor!

3.  Be a card-carrying member.

I read other counseling blogs.  Whether it is a hobby or an obsession, I love learning more about the profession and picking up tips.  Danielle Schultz over at School Counselor Blog wrote a post about business cards.  In January, I followed her advice and ordered my own set of cards.  For a grand total of about $10, I got professional cards printed, which I now carry with me everywhere.  A simple card with my name, email, education, and a link to my LinkedIn helps me quickly and easily share who I am professionally.  

The cards are useless without a desire to network, talking to other professionals is a great opportunity to extend my connections.  If I can't talk to other professionals, handing out cards is next to impossible.  There are a lot of great counselors out there doing incredible things.  I hope to meet more of these individuals who can help me push myself in the future.  

Watch out conference attendees... I've got cards, a haircut, and a professional wardrobe and I am NOT afraid to use them.

"Model" First-Year Educator

In my last post, I mentioned that my girlfriend, Emmi, is a music teacher at an elementary school here in Maryland.  She bravely moved across the country with me when I decided to enter the School Counseling Fellows at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.  When we moved, she had few professional contacts or job prospects, but she threw caution to the wind, networked her "bass clef" off, and basically landed the teaching job of her dreams a week before the school year started.  Before the first day of school, I asked Emmi if we could take a picture of her EVERYDAY before she leaves for work to document her first year as a full-time teacher with the intention of making a video at the end.  Well, we are well over 100 days into the school year and still going strong.

Emmi approved all photos.

Emmi is a tremendous "model"... both in the pictures and as a first-year educator.  Her love for introducing young children to the wonders of music grows everyday and I hear her exude excitement and growing confidence everyday at 5:00pm when she gets home.  Since I am still a student, I feel that watching Emmi both succeed and fail in her first year as an educator is something of a "test run" for me.  No day is the same for her, much like a school counselor.  So, today I asked her what her three most important lessons as a first-year education professional were.  Here they are:

1.  "The first year is all about failing and THE WAY you learn from your failure."

To Emmi, you have two options 1) you can let your failure freeze you and prevent you from growing or 2) you can pick yourself up, look at what you did critically and let it prepare you for next time.  For counselors and teachers alike, there is no prescription for how to complete an objective and sometimes we make the wrong decisions.  We can wallow in our failures or we can use them as motivation to try something different and serve our students  best.

2.  "A lesson plan is only a plan.  You can think through and write up the most elaborate lesson with great introductions and transitions-but you have to factor your audience."

As a counseling intern, I already have some experience with this piece of advice.  Emmi said, "you may have a great plan for the day, but you cannot prepare for what Susie or Tommy are bringing with them."  She makes a great point.  Unlike accountants or factory workers, our "products," (the students) are dynamic, carrying their homes, neighborhoods, and communities to school with them.  We need to remain flexible and understand that everyday is new and every child is fluid.  She clearly plans and maps out her objectives, but she has learned to be "okay" when things go off-track... a skill and attitude I am still developing.

3.  "An effective lesson is one that gives students the chance to use their voice."

Emmi teaches children between the ages of 3-7.  She loves to offer her students the opportunity to share music and express their own, unique points of view.  I watched Emmi develop an after school "bucket band," in which the older children played rhythmic music on empty paint pails.  I agree with Emmi.  Giving students the chance to voice their opinions, concerns, and views is a powerful exercise.  Personally, I like to pull students into my counseling lesson planning, which changes the focus from the product to the process.  When counseling, I always remind myself that students are the experts on their own lives.  Lessons in goal setting and self-efficacy can help them take control and teach others.   

Bottom Right=Pajama Day at school.

Watching Emmi this past year certainly makes me proud... and a bit anxious to start my own educational career.  As I move forward, I will reflect on the anecdotes and lessons she shares.  Ultimately, I am left in awe realizing how fast a year goes.

I Wish I Were Spiderman.

For some reason, on multiple occasions, various students at the high school where I am completing my internship tell me that I look like Spiderman.  It happened first a couple of weeks ago.  As I walked past a group of students in the hallway who were speaking with the school's principle on my way to speak with a teacher, a student yelled out, "Hey, look! It's Spiderman."  I took another step as I realized they were talking about me.  And BAM!, I crouched down and posed with a "web-slinging" hand gesture that I learned through my various viewings of the "Spiderman" films.  Without a word, I stood up and kept walking to my original destination.  On my way back to the school counseling office, the group of students apologized for calling me Spiderman.  I used this opportunity to introduce myself as the new counseling intern and ensured them that I was not offended; rather, I was just playing.

No "Spidey-Senses" here.

Again, today as I walked a student back to their class after we had a short meeting, an entirely new group of students passed me in the hallway.  This time, a young female student said out loud as I passed, "There goes that guy that looks like Spiderman."  I thought I would spare them my impression since we had already passed each other.  For some reason, I feel like I should be flattered by the suggestion that I could be a superhero, but the fact is that sometimes I really wish I was a superhero.  Those special powers could really come in handy when advocating for students!

My counseling SUPERviser told me two weeks ago that stuff in the counseling office was about to get crazy.  I scoffed off the warning...If I only knew then what I know now.

Many scholarships are due during our students' spring break holiday.  When making a scholarship headquarters in our counseling office (including a binder full of local scholarship opportunities as well as direct scholarships from local political delegates) I failed to realize how much work it takes to ensure that I send off scholarships correctly.

Scholarship Headquarters: complete with a binder full of scholarship opportunities for all students.

My supervisor was not kidding, today was off the chain.  We had students applying for SATs, registering for classes, applying for scholarships, and stopping in to talk about other issues all at the same time all day.  While I cannot sling webs or climb up walls, I realized that I can keep kids organized... a very important skill!  I may not have "Spidey-Sense" but I do believe I possess the coveted "scholar-senses" which allow me to believe that each student has the opportunity to succeed.  Wrapping this up:  it was an overwhelming day but I am learning and realize that school counselors ARE superheros!