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Spring Fever + ADHD = Headaches: How School Counselors Can Help

By Julia Taylor for American School Counselor Association

Spring has sprung. For students with ADHD, this time of year may be particularly demanding. For teachers with students with ADHD, it may be even more difficult, as it's not unusual for ADHD students to have more behavior disruptions this time of year.

School counselors can help teachers by offering the following suggestions:

• Sit ADHD students close to the teacher and board, away from the window if possible.
• Make up a "look" to give the student/s with ADHD if their behavior is getting out of control, this way they are not receiving "extra" attention for disruption and still are aware of their inappropriate behavior.
• Try to stay away from long lectures and large group work during this time. Break tasks up and allow students to work in smaller groups.
• Give snack/water/restroom breaks during examinations, if allowed.
• Sit student near students who are "hard" workers.
• If student is a disruption during testing, allow him/herself to test in your office or an empty space where he or she can work alone.
• Allow students to hold an object such as a squeeze ball, rubber band, or other toy to keep them focused.
• Give rewards for writing all assignments down in planner or assignment calendar.
• Don't lose your patience with students; instead, make up a point system with student offering rewards for positive behavior, and consequences for outbursts.
• Try to communicate often with parents – a quick email, phone call, or note home will suffice.

School counselors can offer assistance by:

• Starting a group for students with ADHD!
• Allowing students to eat lunch in your office and go for a walk with you around the building when finished.
• Teaching students relaxation techniques they can use when feeling fidgety.
• Helping students clean out their locker/notebooks and organize materials that may have collected over the year.
• Checking in with students periodically so they are reminded that you are staying on top of them!

It is important for everyone involved with ADHD students to constantly praise positive behavior and keep in mind that the school year is almost over!

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The Stop, Relax And Think Game

In this ever-popular board game, active impulsive children learn motor control, relaxation skills, how to express their feelings, and how to problem-solve.

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This workbook contains more than 60 paper and pencil activities that teach children such important skills as thinking about consequences, staying focused and completing a task, engaging in quiet activities without disturbing others, and more.

The Stop, Relax, & Think Card Game

In this card game, players are dealt Stop, Relax & Think cards, as well as Stressed Out, Confused, and Discouraged cards. As they acquire more cards, they must choose different self-control skills, and they learn the value of patience and cooperating with others to achieve a goal.

The Stop, Relax & Think Scriptbook

In this uniquely designed book, children can practice what to say and how to act in eight different scenarios common to children with behavioral problems.

The Stop, Relax & Think Ball

This fun and educational ball teaches children to control their impulsivity by helping them understand and control their actions

When you order the collection, you'll also get a free canvas carrying bag, regularly priced at $19.95. With this roomy, sturdy bag, you can easily store your materials or carry them to different settings.

To find out how you can purchase this collection of powerful counseling tools, click here!

ABOUT JULIA TAYLOR

Julia Taylor is an intern at the American School Counselor Association. She is completing her master's degree in school counseling at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN SCHOOL COUNSELOR ASSOCIATION

Professional school counselors everywhere share the same vision to support their schools by serving their students. School counselors know that guiding students toward personal and social development leads to improved academic achievement. Through their partnership with principals and teachers, school counselors help prepare today's students to become tomorrow's adults.

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) responds to school counselors' unique needs, helping them grow individually as professionals and providing them with real tools to guide their students. As an international nonprofit organization founded in 1952, ASCA has the benefit of foresight and hindsight. It has grown to fit counselors' changing needs through social and educational movements from desegregation to standardized testing. Responding to the needs of counselors as voiced by counselors has enabled ASCA to remain vital and forward-thinking.

ASCA serves as the voice of school counselors on Capitol Hill and helps members ensure their voices are heard in state legislatures. ASCA has active government affairs representatives who monitor activities in Congress, the Department of Education and throughout Washington to advocate on behalf of school counselors' interests: funding, certification, student-to-counselor ratios and more.

A full-color bimonthly magazine, School Counselor provides practical information and how-to articles to help school counselors help their students and themselves. Each issue has a focus on something school counselors care about, from public relations to grief counseling, as well as departments and columns covering a range of topics. Professional School Counseling is ASCA's award-winning bimonthly academic journal, providing peer-reviewed articles on school counseling theory, research, practice and techniques. The journal and the magazine together provide counselors with the most well-rounded and up-to-date information in the field.

For more information, visit www.schoolcounselor.org or call (703) 683-ASCA.

LOOKING FOR HANDS-ON COUNSELING TOOLS?

Visit the Guidance Channel Shopping Mall! There you will find thousands of resources, many of them national and international award-winners, including reproducible handouts, therapeutic games, multimedia programs, videos, curricula, prevention-awareness items and much more. Be sure to check out our online Childswork/Childsplay catalog, as well as our At-Risk Resources and Wellness Reproductions online catalogs, for innovative tools to address the social and emotional needs of your clients.

FOR ADDITIONAL NEWSLETTERS...

If you've found The Counselor's Classroom useful and informative, you may also be interested in subscribing to some of our other newsletters. Dr. Playwell's Newsletter is a unique newsletter full of play therapy techniques to help you address the social and emotional needs of children and young adolescents. FYI From Wellness offers practical tips and suggestions for use in the clinic or classroom written by professionals from a variety of disciplines. The Guidance Channel Zine is a monthly online magazine that includes interviews, website reviews, statistics and articles by many national organizations such as the National Association of School Psychologists, the American School Counselor Association and National S.A.V.E. (Students Against Violence Everywhere).

Measuring School Success

"Education isn't a social concern, it's a major economic issue.
If our students can't compete today,
how will our companies compete tomorrow?"
~John Akers, former Chairman of IBM

By Franklin Schargel

There are a variety of ways of measuring the success of schools. Each stakeholder or person with an interest in schools uses different measures.

• Real estate people use low dropout and high post-secondary school attendance rates as a method of selling homes.
• Political leaders (including the President) urge greater accountability, based on increased standards, based on high stakes testing.
• Business leaders demand high employability of school district's graduates.
• Parents want their children's success measured by post-secondary school attendance and employability.
• Classroom educators want love of learning, appreciation of art, literature, music and a responsible citizenry.
• Superintendents want all of the above.

What do all of these diverse expectations have in common? They all want students and graduates to have the greatest degree of success.

Yet simply measuring the success of students and schools in individual achievements fails to comprehend the global nature of schools. Thanks to the Internet, fax and cell phones, information is transported around the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Information and knowledge - the commodities of the 21st century - are the most easily transported resources a nation can possess. Information can be taught to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Businesses are no longer geographically bound to produce products in their home countries. Neither are they geographically bound in their hiring practices. Companies are capable of flying around the globe in search of cheap labor, to places where taxes are reasonable, regulations are limited, and where workers are qualified to run, repair, design and develop machinery. Toyota can build cars as easily in Evansville, Indiana as it can in Japan. Motorola can assemble pagers as easily in Singapore as it does in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Look at the label of any "American product." General Motors makes cars in Canada and Korea as well as the United States. IBM makes some of its computers in Mexico as well as the Far East. Pitney Bowes puts its name on the outside of some photocopy machines while Ricoh puts its mechanisms inside.

To compete in the global marketplace, America's manufacturers must depend on a well-trained, technologically prepared workforce, and if they cannot find those workers at home, they will look elsewhere. No longer does an American graduate have to compete against other American graduates for jobs, but now they are also competing against the best graduates of Singapore, China and India.

Everyone wants the best - world class - whether it is in automobiles, sports teams, businesses, stocks or schools. As our population ages and our government downsizes, there are increased demands on limited government funding. This means that schools will have to become world class institutions. Sustained economic growth of a country can best be achieved by having world class educational organizations. High performing educational organizations are capable of increasing a nation's productivity and quality.

Why World Class?

Jobs have become more complex. In the first half of the 20th century, physical power was the engine that drove economic development. Since the 1950s and into the 21st century, brainpower is the driving force. In 1950, 2/3 of Americans who had jobs worked with their hands, while 1/3 worked with their minds. Today the ratio is reversed.

American schools are improving numerically, while changes in society and the workplace change exponentially. The obvious answer to retaining, high-income, high-technologically-skilled jobs to is to improve our educational achievement levels. And even that does not insure that jobs will stay in the country. But without a highly educated global workforce, we cannot even gain admission into the game of global competitiveness.

The Twelve Essential Elements Of Being World Class

All world class educational organizations have twelve essential elements. These elements provide a foundation upon which all the other components are placed. The essential elements are:

Dynamic Leadership
Leaders who focus on empowering others and who are willing to make difficult decisions.

Vision
A sense of purpose and a direction to move in.

Deployment
Merely stating the mission and vision is not sufficient. The vision and mission need to be in the hearts of the stakeholders, as well as on the walls of the offices.

Aligned System
A system that does what it says it will do and has all stakeholders on board who move the organization forward.

Shared Responsibilities
Most people identify this as "empowerment" but there is a need to see that responsibility should be shared as broadly as possible.

Business Partnerships
Organizations need to involve outside business leaders to move a commonly agreed upon agenda forward.

Community Involvement
Outside community groups need to know their responsibilities and what they can do to further the vision and mission. In schools, this means parental involvement at all school levels.

School Alliances
If we believe in lifelong learning, then all schools need to identify common goals, strategies and methods of implementing those strategies.

Customer Satisfaction
Schools need to identify for whom they are working and how to meet and exceed the expectation of these individuals and groups.

Continuously Improving Results
Goals need to be seen as plateaus, not a destination. Once a goal is attained, new goals - stretch goals - need to be developed and deployed.

Student Learning
The focus of schools needs to be on student learning. All activities in schools need to be measured as to how they add value to learning.

High Performing Students
The ultimate goal is to develop high performing students in a variety of life's ambitions and achievements.

The United States can only thrive in the 21st century if all the graduates of our public schools succeed and make this country into a high performing global nation. If our schools cannot turn out high performing graduates, how can our industries produce high performing products and services?

Fostering A Love For Reading: An Investment In The Future

By Franklin Schargel for The Bureau For At-Risk Youth

Reading and writing skills are the essential ingredients in almost every subject taught in school. While many reading specialists and researchers may argue about the best approach to teach these basic skills, there is one thing they, and the research, agree on. If a child does not know how to read and write by the end of the third grade, that child is clearly at risk. In our desire to achieve the greatest success with the largest number of children placed in our charge, we must overcome the school-based obstacles that place children at risk. The way to ensure that no child is left behind is to ensure that reading and writing are effectively taught. What Can Schools, Teachers, And Parents Do To Encourage Children To Develop A Love And Appreciation Of Reading And Writing? Use children's imagination to drive their interest in reading. Children enjoy learning about their world. They enjoy looking at books about things of interest to them -- perhaps how plants grow, how baby animals develop, or how vehicles carry people and things. Fortunately, many wonderful informational books are available today -- books with spectacular photographs or illustrations and descriptions that children can understand easily. Teach children new words and concepts. Explain new vocabulary in the books that you read with them. Teach them and name all of the things in the classroom and in the home. In everyday conversation with children, introduce words and concepts that they may not know, for example beauty or fairness. Encourage children write, draw, and engage in play. After drawing, have children label the illustrations (for example: house, car, mother, father, me). Make life experiences learning experiences. Any time children go someplace, especially someplace new to them, they can learn something. Even if it is just a walk around the block, children can learn something new if you talk with them. Point out things they might not notice. Explain events that are taking place. Answer the questions the children have and praise them for looking and learning. Before you go to a place the children have never been, such as a zoo or a museum, discuss what they will be seeing and learning. After the trip, have the children talk and write about their experiences. Invite visitors to your classroom. Classroom visitors can teach your children a great deal. They can bring interesting objects or animals to talk about with the children. Visitors can talk about their jobs or their hobbies or show pictures of faraway places they have seen or tell stories about life long ago. Then have the children write them "thank you" letters. For very young children, have them dictate to you what you should write. Read aloud to young children. Reading aloud is important because it helps children acquire the information and skills they need to succeed in school and life, such as: Knowledge of printed word letters and words, and the relationship between sound and print The meaning of many words Insight into how books work and exposure to a variety of writing styles A greater understanding of the world in which they live The ability to recognize the difference between written language and everyday conversation The pleasure of reading Make reading books an enjoyable experience. Choose a comfortable place where the children can sit near you. Be enthusiastic about reading. Show children that reading is an interesting and rewarding activity. When children enjoy being read to, they will grow to love books and be eager to learn to read. Read to children frequently. Read to the children in your care several times a day. Establish regular times for reading during the day and find other opportunities to read: Start or end the day with a book. Read to children after a morning play period, which also helps settle them down. Read to them during snack time or before naptime. Help children to learn as you read. Offer explanations, make observations, and help the children notice new information. Explain words they may not know. Point out how the pictures in a book relate to the story. If the story takes place in a historic era or in an unfamiliar place, give children some background information so they will better understand and enjoy the story. Talk about the characters' actions and feelings. Find ways to relate the book you are reading to what the children have been doing in the classroom. Ask children questions as you read. Ask questions that help children connect the story with their own lives or that help them to compare the book with other books they have read. Ask questions that help the children notice what is in the book and ask them to predict what will happen next. Encourage children to talk about the book. Have a conversation with the children about the book you are reading. Answer their questions. Welcome their observations and add to what they say. Continue to talk about the book after you have read it. Invite the children to comment on the story. Ask them to talk about their favorite parts and encourage them to tell the story in their own words. Read many kinds of books. Children need to be read different kinds of books. Storybooks can help children learn about times, cultures, and peoples other than their own; stories can help them understand how others think, act, and feel. Informational books can help children learn facts about the world around them. These books also introduce children to important concepts and vocabulary that they will need for success in school. Read books that relate to the children’s backgrounds: their experiences, cultures, languages and interests. Read books with characters and situations both similar and dissimilar to those in the children’s lives so they can learn about the world. Choose books that help you teach. Use alphabet books to help you teach the names of the letters and the sounds that each letter can represent and use counting books to teach children how to count and to recognize numbers. Use poetry or rhyming books to support your teaching of phonological awareness. Use big books (oversized books that your children can easily see to point out letters, words, and other features of print and to teach book handling. Choose stories that help children learn about social behavior, for example, books about friendship to help children learn to share and cooperate. Also choose stories that show children how the world around them works, for example, what is happening with the eggs that are hatching in your science area. Reread favorite books. Children love to hear their favorite books over and over again. Hearing books read several times helps children understand and notice new things. For example, they may figure out what an unfamiliar word means when they have heard a story several times. They may notice repeated sound patterns. If you point out some letters and words as your read the book repeatedly, children also may pick up specific words that are easily recognized and specific letter-sound relationships. When children learn to love and appreciate reading, they will become life-long learners and will have the power to succeed in life. Material from A Dropout Prevention Toolkit, by Franklin P. Schargel to be published by Eye on Education, Inc. 2003. and from Teaching Our Youngest, by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Early Childhood-Head Start Task Force, Washington, D.C., 2002.

Nurturing Creativity

By Lynn Bunnell, M.S. ED., CTRS, CADC for Wellness Reproductions & Publishing, LLC

As a recreation therapist working with clients with mental health and/or chemical dependency issues, I have the wonderful opportunity to use a variety of modalities, limited only by my imagination and creativity. Often, I ask group members to experience and participate in activities that may not fit their expectations of what therapy "should" be. For many, this can be a fun experience as they explore new ways of self-expression. For others, it can provoke feelings of anxiety and initial resistance to different approaches, such as the use of art. Often, clients may be self-critical, telling me they are not creative to avoid a particular technique or modality. Yet dealing with these reactions is both fun and challenging for me. In this article I will explore what creativity is, examine the common barriers to it, and offer ideas on how it can be encouraged. The ultimate goal of this article is to convince you that all human beings are creative and to illustrate how you can help your clients to explore and nurture their own creativity.

How do we define creativity? Many of us hold a limited view that looks at creativity as occurring when we are performing or producing a tangible product. I like to think of creativity as a much larger concept that incorporates a process. Amy Dacyczyn, author of The Tightwad Gazette, Promoting Thrift As A Viable Alternative Lifestyle (1992), decided she wanted to be a stay-at-home mother, but needed to find ways to save money to make up for the lack of a paycheck. She came up with many ideas in which a person could save money and shares these strategies in her book. She also examines the concept of creativity in her book, stating (p51), "Creativity is nothing more or nothing less than solving a problem in an original way." She adds, "When there is a lack of a recognized outlet, such as writing, art, or music, creativity goes unnoticed." She points out that all of us have this spark and gives examples that we take for granted, such as when we speak and combine words to express our thoughts. Our creativity may also be demonstrated when we adapt a recipe because we`re missing an ingredient or when we come up with a new strategy for addressing a problem with a co-worker. Dacyczyn takes away the mysticism that creativity is a gift for a few.

When discussing the concept of creativity with my colleagues, several of them suggested that there is a spiritual element. I agree and like to think of the word recreation as re-creation. I believe that when we are recreating and doing something we feel passionate about, we are re-creating and discovering different parts or sides of ourselves that we may not be in touch with often. Experiencing these different parts of ourselves helps us feel more connected with ourselves, with others, and with our Higher Power. Another benefit of understanding that we are creative is that it helps us get "unstuck" when we realize that there are multiple solutions to any problem. One of my colleagues, Judy LaCoste, gave a simple yet eloquent definition, "Creativity is expression of self without walls." When we view creativity in this light, it becomes apparent that everyone possesses this gift. Clearly, a lack of understanding of what creativity is is one of the main reasons why many people don`t recognize it in themselves.

Another common barrier to creativity occurs when we`re told our ideas are "wrong," and we feel squelched. Harry Chapin’s song, "Flowers are Red," from his album, Living Room Suite, tells the story of a young boy who was punished by his teacher because he wanted to paint flowers all the colors of the rainbow. His teacher told him, "Flowers are red, young man, and green leaves are green..." Eventually the boy agreed with the teacher in a resigned way, his spirit broken. Later he had another teacher who encouraged him to paint flowers in all the colors of the rainbow. His response to her was, "Flowers are red, and green leaves are green. There`s no need to see flowers any other way than the way they always have been seen." The boy had believed that his ideas were wrong and even when given an opportunity to try it a new way, he was only able to parrot the negative messages he received. The message in this song is a testament to the power words or judgment can have on creativity.

Stress is also a barrier to creativity. When our clients or we are stressed, our creativity may become blocked because we are so focused on a particular problem or crisis. This is especially common amidst depression, when concentration may be poor and it is a struggle to get through each hour or day. In addition, when we feel pressure to perform, we can feel less creative. Other obstacles to creativity clients have identified include:

• low confidence
• not enough time
• criticism
• peer pressure
• negative attitudes
• lack of resources/opportunities
• fear of mistakes or failure
• exhaustion
• negative self-talk (“I can’t”)
• black and white thinking

It is clear there are many ways to discourage creativity, so what can we do to encourage creativity?

Foremost, as professionals we need to believe in the creativity within ourselves. If I flippantly say, "I am not creative," or I don`t do what I`m asking my clients to do, I am sending the wrong message. We need to be role models and demonstrate a willingness to try new things -- even when scared. We can help our clients to believe they are creative by educating clients as to what creativity really is: a process for them to discover their own unique qualities. Exposing them to a variety of activities and situations can be invaluable.

In terms of educating clients on the value and importance of creativity, I incorporate brainstorming into many of the groups I facilitate, often as a warm-up to the topic. I will often toss around a "Koosh" ball and have the group members come up with ideas about a topic without judgment. Topics for brainstorming could include ways to have fun, ways to show care for another person, ways to manage your stress, positive qualities, things you are grateful for, etc.

In a group emphasizing creativity specifically, I pass around a shoebox, (one with a separate lid) and ask them to do something with it (except stomp on it). I go first and put one foot into the lid and the other into the box and I cross-country ski around the room. I have seen over 100 ways to use a shoebox, (some ideas I cannot repeat in this article)! I will then break the group into teams of three to four participants and give them a bag of six props with which to create a game. They name their game and demonstrate it to the others.

I often play the above-mentioned song, “Flowers are Red,” and ask clients to discuss their feelings when hearing the song and how they relate to it. Then, at the end of the session after the group has had an opportunity to explore their creativity, we identify and discuss what discourages and encourages creativity. From these discussions, my clients have identified the following ways to encourage creativity:

• express your true self and develop individuality
• use positive messages (“I can!”)
• find quiet time to reflect
• stay open-minded
• refrain from judging or criticizing others
• take risks and learn through trial and error
• withhold previous assumptions
• express feelings and thoughts through writing or drawing
• browse through a store, library, or craft show to stimulate ideas
• surround oneself with positive and encouraging people who are problem solvers
• brainstorm with self and/or others
• use humor
• maintain a positive attitude

In summary, we need to convey acceptance and encouragement of creativity both through our words and our actions. It is also important to emphasize the value of creativity in problem solving and therefore in our clients` various crises. I feel so rewarded when I hear a client grasp this concept and share it with a new client by saying, "You may not think you are creative, but you will find out here that you are."

Easing Down The Path To College Acceptance

By Nancy Wasserman Cocola, MSW, CSW for GuidanceChannel.com

Students all over the country will soon be frantically attempting to complete their college applications. Educators and guidance counselors are at the receiving end of all the questions, anxieties, and confusion inherent in the college selection and acceptance process. So how does a student and his or her parents wade through all the facts, figures, and intangibles to decide what would be a good match for them?

Begin The Process Early

The earliest conversations students have about college often come as they make their course selections in high school. But for freshman and sophomores, college is a distant construct. Their immediate thoughts are on dances, movies, driver’s ed, bio labs and football games. By junior year students are mature enough and aware enough to begin the process in earnest. However, there will always be those few students who sport a maddeningly casual attitude until December 30th of their senior year…two days before the applications are due!

Engage Parents

Engaging parents early is essential. By October of junior year, an evening meeting for all students and their parents or guardians can be an eye-opener. It’s the time when you will get a sense of how many of your students have involved adults working with them, and you’ll quickly learn how much parents know about the college process. Armed with this information, you will be able to better tailor future events, and determine the type of materials you need for such group experiences. For the student whose parents do not speak English, support at home can be limited. That is why Spanish (or other) language copies of every handout you give are a must, as you seek the support of parents.

Answer The Question, “Why Go To College?”

Career exploration is a great place to start with students who are undecided about whether or not to go to college. By helping students identify their interests and strengths they can begin to look at careers that would be a match for them. Showing students the educational requirements to pursue a career in their field of interest is often the best motivator to help them choose college as an option.

Look Beyond The Four-Year College

Many a skilled and successful adult has furthered their education at an excellent alternative to a four-year college, which offers the traditional Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degrees. Community Colleges are public institutions often supported by state and local revenues making the cost for an education there more reasonable. Students receive an Associate degree. Junior Colleges are private two-year colleges offering Associate of Arts and Science degrees, and are often residential. Technical Colleges place a special emphasis on education and training in technical fields. However not all of these colleges offer a two year associates degree.

Ask The Pertinent Questions

Students must first gather information about themselves before they are able to go about the process of gathering information about colleges. So begin by having students answers some key questions.

• How far away from home are you comfortable going?
• Is there a region of the country you would favor?
• Do you prefer an urban, suburban, small city or rural setting?
• How big of a campus and student body seems right for you?
• Do you have a particular area of study you wish to pursue?
• Is ethnic, religious or political diversity an important consideration?
• Do you want a purely liberal arts education or a more specialized education (i.e. business, engineering, pre-med or nursing)?
• Are schools with sororities and fraternities a positive or negative draw for you?
• Are you interested in a public or private school?
• How do you think you will pay for college (scholarship, grants, work/study, loans, parents)?

Now that the field is narrow, students and their counselors can make a list of those schools that meet their criteria and proceed to solicit information from them via email or phone.

Select The Test That`s Right For You

Standardized tests play a part in the college selection process, though their importance varies from college to college. Once again, the earlier a student enters the process, the better off they are as exposure to the test can help students improve their scores. Below is a list of many of the tests students may need to take:

PSATs should be taken in the fall of junior year to help students recognize where they stand in relation to other college bound students.

SAT®I Reasoning Tests include verbal and mathematical reasoning and aptitude testing. Recent changes to the test include a writing section. Access to practice tests can be purchased online or at a bookstore.

SAT®II Subject Tests are not required by all colleges. It’s recommend that students take these tests soon after completing the course material in school.

ACT Assessmentsare designed to evaluate high school students` general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work.

TOEFL® exams are intended to evaluate the English proficiency of people whose native language is not English.

Use The Common Application!

It is no longer necessary to laboriously type out each application, using messy whiteout to cover the inevitable typos! The Common Application, which is accepted by over 250 colleges, is accessed online, filled out once, and sent directly to the student’s list of colleges! Many colleges have their applications posted on their own websites and students can apply right there.

Keep Perspective On The Essay

The Essay -- no two words have ever struck so much fear into the hearts of so many adolescents! While the prospect of writing the college essay may seem daunting at first, there are a few simple thoughts and tips that will help students keep the task in perspective.

• Students should begin with a brainstorming session and progress to an outline of the points they wish to make.
• Encourage students to think in terms of conveying personal qualities not just facts.
• Colleges are looking for a student’s ability to be reflective.
• A single passion like model building or mountain biking can make a revealing essay.
• Keep the focus narrow and personal.
• Writing, which is evaluated with equal weight as their actual personal “story,” should use words students are comfortable with and employ conversational language.
• Review by a parent is fine, but often cannot offer an impartial assessment. Teachers are a better choice to review and support students’ efforts.

Visit Schools Whenever Possible

There isn’t a college course book or brochure that can capture the “feel” and “culture” of a college. That is why visiting schools, whenever possible is the best way to know if a student will be comfortable there. However, visits are not always possible. At www.CampusTours.com students can get a virtual tour of almost every college campus.

Make The Most Of A College Interview

Whether on campus or off, the interview can turn out to be a pivotal part of the selection process for both the student and the school. While many schools say these interviews are non-evaluative, making a positive impression on an admissions officer can take a borderline application and push it over into the accepted column. Encourage students to be prepared for their interviews. They should research the school in advance, have questions at the ready that run the gamut from “What are the internship opportunities on campus?” to “When must you declare a major?” and be prepared to talk about why they would like to come to the school. While bringing their resume of accomplishments is not always necessary, it can be an icebreaker at the beginning of an interview.

Take Advantage Of Resources For Financial Aid and General Information

There are an array of online sites that provide a wealth of information for students and their parents.

www.collegeboard.com features database of information gathered by the College Board from 3,300 college officials. Visitors will find scholarship and financial-aid information, easy-to-use CSS Profile applications, and SAT sign-up and mailing services.

www.review.com features database of information gathered by the reputed Princeton Review on 1,500 colleges. The “Counselor-o-matic” on the site serves as a fun-to-use tool to help students develop a list of schools. There are also applications for 650 colleges.

www.mapping-your-future.org features college search and financial aid information which you can select to see in Spanish.

For those who do not have access to a computer, the local library often has a section with a variety of respected college guides that are perfect to help steer parents and students in their preliminary college searches.

How Do You Want to Live?

By Kwok-Sze Richard Wong for American School Counselor Association

Each year, my children’s elementary school yearbook publishes the goals of all the students who are moving on to middle school. A few years ago when he was in sixth grade, my son Tyler wrote that he wanted to be a professional athlete and an electric guitarist. I have no doubts that he has the ability and the drive to accomplish one or both someday, just as I am sure some of his friends will fulfill their goals of becoming judges, marine biologists and fashion critics.

Unfortunately, these responses illustrate the common notion that life goals are inextricably tied to occupation or vocation. This is probably a holdover from the archaic practice of asking children what they want to be when they grow up. Most young children would find it almost impossible to answer this question. After all, most elementary-age children don’t know enough about potential occupations or their own skills and interests to even have aspirations. Yes, they need to be aware that they eventually will need a profession. However, some professions that will engage today’s children do not exist yet. Others that currently exist will be long extinct.

When I worked at a publishing company, on the eve of the computer age, all manuscripts were sent to two women who manually entered every manuscript into a large machine that printed the manuscripts in columns. The columns of print were then sent to another person who cut them up and pasted them onto boards. Few of us today even remember that as recently as 10 years ago, there were professionals called “typesetters” and “paste-up artists.” Conversely, 10 years ago no one would have grasped the concept of a profession called “website designer.”

Asking young children what they want to be when they grow up perpetuates a misconception that even most adults hold. Too often, we confuse what we do with who we are. As adults, we are defined by our roles: we’re somebody’s mother, somebody’s teacher, somebody’s counselor or somebody’s boss. Invariably, those roles revolve around our occupation and tend to disregard the other facets of our lives.

Career planning should begin not by asking children what they want to be, but how they want to live. Some of Tyler’s friends had the right idea. They stated that their goals were “to have a good life,” “to have a healthy life,” or “to love what I do.” From there, they can explore what is important to them, what would make them happy and what they would need to do in order to lead a good life.

Some of Tyler’s other friends set goals “to win the Nobel Peace Prize,” “to start a Fortune 500 company,” or “to save an endangered species.” One adventurous classmate said he wanted “to have a formal dinner on top of Mt. Everest.” Undoubtedly, any of those accomplishments would bring them happiness and fulfillment and may have little to do with their chosen occupation. I hope Tyler pursues and accomplishes his life goals. I hope he leads a happy life full of contentment. I hope he enjoys what he does, even if he never gets paid to play basketball or the electric guitar.

In the meantime, he is finding contentment just playing his guitar for fun…and loudly. Fortunately, he shares my taste in music. He favors The Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd over Linkin Park and Three Doors Down. He enjoys asking me to name a famous guitarist so he can guess the kind of guitar he played or dissecting lyrics by The Who. Last year, he was assigned to write a paper on the most influential person in his life. Given our shared interest in rock and roll and our long conversations during our frequent drives to the guitar store, I should not have been surprised when he wrote about…Les Paul, a pioneer of the electric guitar.

I don’t mind that he didn’t write a paper about me. I know that parents are the most important influence on their children’s lives, but we all need to revere someone bigger than life. We look to our parents as mentors and guides, but we also need someone we idolize.

As a writer, I have always had a high regard for Ernest Hemingway, although I don’t necessarily emulate his lifestyle. I like his simple writing style and his ability to paint vivid images or to capture complex ideas with a minimum of words. I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that he first checked into the Mayo Clinic in 1960, the year after my family moved to Rochester, Minnesota. In fact, my father worked at my uncles’ restaurant, Wong’s Café, which is near the Mayo Clinic and is still operated by my cousins. I’m enthralled by the idea that I was just a few blocks away from him. I often wonder what would have happened if I had been older and had had a chance to meet him. How would that brush with greatness have affected me?

I suspect that Hemingway may have told me that he never set out to be famous or important. He never intended to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. In fact, he stumbled upon his first job as a journalist quite by accident when he was just 18 years old. Hemingway was certainly larger than life, but he probably would say he was simply living his life and following his passions.

This seems to be true for most people who attain greatness. The pursuit of fame is an empty endeavor. The pursuit of passion leads to fulfillment, and if it was meant to be, fame and fortune. Many influential and pioneering theorists and inventors certainly seemed to believe in this principle. Most of them probably could not imagine the impact that their ideas would eventually have on future generations. After all, Les Paul didn’t try to become famous as a pioneer of electric guitars; he just wanted to sound good when he played for his wife.

For the past several years, I have had the privilege of serving as a judge for the USA Today All-USA High School Academic Team. Each year, all of the 80 finalists I judge are outstanding, making the judging extremely difficult. However, I have noticed one thread common to all the finalists: they all have one interest that absorbs them, an interest that sometimes has little relation to their academic studies. Whether it involves music, art, science, drama, math or community service, the students have jumped in head-first because they enjoyed it or because it had some meaning to their life, and any academic or career benefits were a bonus they discovered afterward.

From these astonishing students, I learned an important truth about career planning. If we help students do what they love, then everything else will follow. Sometimes, the best way to find something is to stop looking for it. Similarly, the best way to help students plan for the future is not to help them find successful careers, but to help them find meaningful and fulfilling lives. As parents and as educators, we shouldn’t just help our students plan for a career, we should help them pursue a passion. We should help them understand that what they do does not define who they are. We should stop asking them what they want to be when they grow up and start asking them how they want to live.

Parenting 101: Family Involvement Equals Student Achievement

By Warlene Gary for National PTA

As millions of students head back to the classroom this year, it’s an ideal time for parents and teachers to work together so that children succeed and learning environments improve. Studies have documented that regardless of the economic, ethnic, or cultural background of the family, family involvement in a child’s education is a major factor in determining success in school.

“No matter what the demographics, students are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, graduate and go on to post-secondary education when schools and families partner,” said Karen Mapp, Ed.D., a leading education researcher on school, family and community partnerships and lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School on Education.

Benefits of Family Involvement

Students

• Higher grades, test scores, and graduation rates
• Better school attendance
• Increased motivation, better self-esteem
• Lower rates of suspension
• Decreased use of drugs and alcohol
• Fewer instances of violent behavior
• Greater enrollment in postsecondary education

Teachers

• Greater morale (and self-esteem)
• Teaching effectiveness (proficiency) increases
• Job satisfaction goes up
• Communication/relations with students, parents, families, and communities improves
• Community support of schools increases

Parents

• Communication/relations with children and teachers improves
• Self-esteem goes up
• Education level/skills increase
• Decision-making skills become stronger
• Attitude toward school and school personnel improves

A Philosophy of Partnership

Today’s schools are under increasing pressures by the No Child Left Behind Act to create programs that involve families in their children’s education in order to raise student achievement. “We now know what practices make a difference in engaging parents, families and communities in the educational process, and it’s not simply holding more events at school. Instead, schools should reach out to families in their own homes and communities to build relationships and earn trust,” said Mapp.

Effective programs embrace a philosophy of partnership. Part of this process for schools includes welcoming families and making them feel comfortable as part of the school community, honoring and affirming any type of involvement or contributions families can make, and putting children at the center of educational issues.

Effective parent involvement programs include activities that are addressed by the following six standards:

Communicating

Communication between home and school is regular, two-way, and meaningful.

Parenting

Parenting skills are promoted and supported.

Student learning

Parents play an integral role in assisting student learning.

Volunteering

Parents are welcome in the school, and their support and assistance are sought.

School decision making and advocacy

Parents are full partners in the decisions that affect children and families.

Collaborating with community

Community resources are used to strengthen schools, families, and student learning.

Family involvement is a commitment made by the parent with the help of the school and community. It is too basic and necessary of an effort to be an option. It’s like simple mathematics: family + involvement = student success. For more information about effective family – school partnerships, visit www.pta.org.