Like all counselors, there are many times that things come up and I find myself saying, “I wonder what another counselor would do?” or “Is there a better way to do this?” or “How do they do this at another school?”
Right now I am the sole counselor in my building. Yes, there are two other psychologists that I work with, but both are only split between other buildings and their total time is still only 3 1/2 days per week. I do have a year under my belt at the middle school, but really I am still most familiar with high school issues and procedures. Want to talk college admissions? I am your person. What are the best groups to run for 5th graders? I have an idea, but I am still perfecting my craft.
There are a lot of great resources on the internet. Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Blogs, ASCA Scene… I find myself lurking there. Looking for ideas and reading about other’s trials and experiments. I also go to conferences when I can and I go to TACA (Tompkins Area Counselor Association) meetings. I know I really look forward to when we have breakout sessions for the different building levels. I really want to talk with other Middle School Counselors to “pick their brains” and get their ideas and opinions. And, it’s not like I don’t trust myself. I consider myself to be a good counselor. I also believe in the “Better, Better, Good Philosophy.” What is that? No matter how good you are, you can always be better, and once you do something better, you want to do it even better again the next time. Better. Better. Good!
By now, you are probably wondering what my point is. Well, I started a Facebook group called Caught In The Middle School Counselors. This is a closed group, meaning anyone can see who the members are, but only members can see each others’ posts. It’s kind of like a secret society for Middle School Counselors.
I started the group abut a month ago with 7 members and now we have 55. I have to admit, I look forward to having my cup of coffee in the morning and seeing what’s on the mind of my colleagues. These counselors have some great advice for one another and ask really great questions. It really has turned into the kind of sounding board I was hoping for as a sole counselor.
If you have similar feeling and if you’re interested in becoming a member, you can open the page and request membership or email me and I can directly add you to the group. Either way you join, I hope you do. It’s a great connection to other school counselors, all of which I am happy to call my friends.
Hope to see you there!
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