"Obstacles to better school counseling -- and what to do about it," by Valerie Strauss
The Washington Post
Posted Online on February 2, 2011
Ms. Strauss' column, "The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for Parents (and Everyone Else)" reprinted this article written by Patrick O'Connor, past president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Mr. O'Connor writes about the frustrations many parents have with their school counselors not being able to fully address and deal with the issues of their children. He says that he and and all of the school counselors would, surprisingly, agree with you. The counselors simply do not have the manpower and the time to adequately deal with all of the many issues each student deals with. The average caseload of counselors is over 450 students plus many other tasks which do not even pertain to their job descriptions are assigned to the counselors and they will simply not have time for everyone.
Mr. O'Connor recommends trying to resolve this problem by asking parents to go to the school counselor along with maybe two other parents and asking what you can do to assist them in making their job easier. A meeting with the principal should follow next, "where it’s time for a frank, fair discussion about the school’s counseling services. A balanced presentation of the frustrations you’ve experienced and the realization that the counselor is hamstrung will do more to improve a school counselor’s week than any party could. Your meeting with the principal is over only after there is an agreement to a policy review, a town hall meeting, or a parent-led task force to study the problem and publicize solutions." O'Connor then offers a few other ideas to assist the beleaguered counseling staff.
This article really surprised me as I have never considered the counseling department needing assistance. For some strange reason I always assumed they were simply waiting to counsel students and, though they were busy, would be there waiting and ready to help kids in whatever issues they faced. Parents, students and teachers need to understand what counselors face and what they can do to assist the counseling staff. Also, the article suggests that since the school or the counselors cannot do all the heavy lifting, the solutions to student's issues starts at home and only with the parent's involvement will problems get resolved.
I love this article because it brings attention to something I think gets overlooked way more frequently than it should. Students who don't have a place to call home and/or are living on the streets can easily get overlooked in schools. This specific person tells about how her and her little sister were never approached about needs or appearance of the two of them when they were living on the streets and always existing in an abusive environment. No one ever asked why they were always afraid to "call home", or would flinch and hunch down if someone became angry. She then goes on to give advice for teachers and schools if they ever think they may know some of these students. She reminds them to offer resources, extracurricular activites, etc. Then she gives advice to the students themselves; stay in school, education will be your biggest secret weapon, and focus on what you can control...and so much more. It's such a relevant topic, great article!