Expectations

To kick off classroom guidance for 3rd and 4th graders I decided to ask them about their expectations for guidance class this year and for me as their school counselor.  Each student wrote on a sticky note and attached it to my chart paper.

 Students expected to learn more strategies to solve small and big problems.   They expected to use role plays to practice new strategies.  Students thought that we would talk about feelings, friendship, and making kind choices.  They expected that we would play games, that I would bring puppets, and that we would read some good books.

I then asked students how I could best help them this school year.  Students encouraged me to come up with a system where students could sign up to see me or have lunch.  They asked me to ride the bus more, go out to recess more often, and try to come for guidance more frequently.  While finding more time to fulfill these requests will be difficult (1 school counselor to almost 600 kids is a challenge), this has given me a good indication of what my priorities should be.

I plan to use all of this information to help guide my work with students this year.  I still have more 3rd and 4th grade classes to see in this rotation.  I am looking forward to getting more feedback!