In case you haven't heard:

Last spring a report commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and published by the Public Agenda elevated the concern that students are not getting the support they need when it comes to choosing a college or career or getting financial aid for college.  The report, titled Can I Get a Little Advice Here?, detailed the findings from telephone interviews that were conducted from May 7 – June 24, 2009, with 614 young adults aged 22 to 30 years old who have experience with some post-secondary education. Key findings included the following:

In the act of blogging, students are crafting and creating texts, sharing meaningful messages, and engaging in powerful literacy experiences. But, most students don’t see these activities as being literate because they are not school sanctioned.

I hope you are not alarmed when I tell you that I have a little voice in my head that takes pleasure in taunting me with the notion that I really have no idea what I am doing...that I am some kind of impostor in the various roles that I take on...and that it will not be long before everyone around me finds me out.This school counseling blog hit home with me as it relates to keeping this voice in check.

I was recently part of a discussion of educators from all walks of life – new, novice, elementary, secondary, higher education – and the topic turned to nursery rhymes and someone mentioned that with today’s “results driven” requirements and assessment-based measurements, nursery rhymes were rarely, if ever, taught in schools anymore.

I have been blessed in my ten years of experience as a school counselor to work alongside two principals who both understood the importance of a collaborative partnership between school counselors and principals.  What I appreciated most about our relationship was that each principal, one at the middle school level and one at the high school level, had a high level of respect for my position and training as a school counselor.

Today I received a text message from the daughter of a family friend that I think deserves a wider read. To demonstrate a trend in education, sometimes anecdotal evidence can shed light on an issue in ways that thousands of pages of hard evidence can't. Although I read tons of articles on service learning, it's a conversation with a student that really gets my attention.

If you are a school counselor and not signed up for the ASCA SCENE, you are missing out!  This networking site is a professional meeting place for school counseling professionals to share and learn from each other. Get answers to your school counseling questions, share your lesson plans and best practices, become the best school counselor you can be.

As a educator or administrator, do you ever ask yourself, “How can I take on one more task?  What additional responsibilities will fall on my shoulders?”  Chances are these thoughts do (or have) run through your head in a typical school year.  Rightfully so.  The ongoing issues with school districts slashing budgets, requiring accountability, and all the while expecting the same or additional work output, can leave one’s nerves frazzled and on edge.

The recent case of Fox v. Traverse City Area Public Schools (2010 WL 1948203) serves as a good reminder that the speech of public school employees is not always “protected speech” as most of us have come to understand that term in the context of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.