A Letter from the Heartland: A Week with a Middle School Guidance Counselor
It was a week of anything and everything
The students in middle school have faced various circumstances that no other group has endured children have encountered over the last two years. During two of their most significant years in terms of social and cognitive development, their later elementary years, their school was shut down or conducted in both a face-to-face and virtual “or E-Learning” due to a global pandemic. The change has caused an unstable foundation for registering course content and developing the soft-skills. The problems only multiply with many school districts having only one guidance counselor.
I recently followed a guidance counselor responsible for over 400 students in grades 6–12, from 7:55 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon straight through (including a 25-minute lunch break). Our week included talking to students in the sixth-eighth grade; our days included
- Trying to get eighth graders to sign up for a rigorous high school graduation path. These courses that include various core and elective classes will look better on a college application if students pursue post-secondary education.
- Had seventh-grade students participate in a money-saving activity that introduced them to the concepts of creating a bank account and putting money away for a “rainy day” that will help them “buy the umbrella.”
- Sixth graders engage in a self-esteem exercise that emphasizes reaching out to their friends, family, and school staff if they ever needed someone to talk to. During the pandemic and students being at home, this activity had even more critical as students needed as many positive reinforcements as possible.
These activities coupled with helping high school seniors fill out their college applications; sophomores request their next year’s schedules, talking to juniors about the summer internship programs, and the occasional freshman struggling with the transition to high school. Students have enough on their plates and need all the support they can get. The week was an eye-opening experience as counselors have to be ready at the drop of a hat for any (and all) situations, and they need to be given appreciation.
