Being a School Counselor means not only working with students, but all persons in your building. Our district is lucky that we are a part of a Teachers’ Center, and not only are we lucky to be a part of it, we are lucky enough to have it hosted in our building. For those of you who don’t know what a Teacher Center is, a TC is a work room for teachers. Ours houses books and reference guides, a laminating machine, a cricut machine, binder, magnet maker, not to mention many other wonderful gadgets. In addition, it provides professional development training to staff through a variety of programs. When the new Director took office in December, I told her I wanted to hold a book discussion group for teachers. I picked the book, The Tiny Warrior, an inspiring book about reaching one’s personal goals. Bonnie, our Director ordered the books, and they just came in. Now I need to advertise the group and begin planning.
In the mean time, Bonnie also asked me to co-facilitate another book group on Understanding Poverty. I am so excited to be able to help!
To facilitate a group you need to remember a few key ingredients:
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Pick a book
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Pick some dates–depending on how long your book is, you can have 1 meeting – 6 meetings. After all, you want everyone to actually have time to read the assignment before the next discussion group meeting.
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Limit the group size. I wouldn’t have more than about 10 people. This will allow everyone enough time to share their ideas, questions, and thoughts.
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Focus on a few key questions that will be presented to the entire group, and always include this question, “How can I use this is my classroom?”
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Bring goodies. People like to eat, and food is always a motivator for people to come.
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Promise that it will be fun AND useful. I am not lying; it will be both.
