Making the Time to Counsel Students.

I remember entering the school counseling profession because I felt that I would be able to spend the majority of my day counseling students and making a positive impact on their lives. I felt as though counseling students would be very rewarding and fulfilling. Although I find that part of my job to be just as rewarding as I had imagined, I found that I was spending less and less time with students and more and more time completing paperwork. I'm sure that all school counselors can attest to the time needed for organizing and distributing standardized tests, building schedules, doing registration, attending meetings, organizing cumulative folders, and on and on. In order to maximize the amount of time I spend with students and do the things that drew me to school counseling in the first place, I have made some changes in the way that I approach my day. I have 12 goals that I make an effort to achieve as I move through a given school year or school day. By attempting to fulfill each of the 12 components, I find that I am able to increase the amount of time I spend counseling students and still complete the paper tasks that are required of a school counselor. 1. Make the Most of the Time Spent with New Students Part of my job is to enroll students that are new to the school. I create a schedule for the student, provide a tour of the school, assign a locker, and introduce the child to an advisory teacher. I have taken a new approach to this seemingly routine task. I find that although a student who is entering the school in November may be very happy, most aren't. It's true that although dad may have just received a great promotion and gotten transferred out West, the majority of students are not experiencing bliss. I find that the bulk of these November students are entering under unhappy circumstances. In many cases, their parents have lost jobs and are looking for better lives, or the child had problems at the last school attended and is trying to get a fresh start, and so forth. Regardless of the reason, I usually find a student who feels confused, overwhelmed, and has few or no friends. I view my time with these students as true counseling, and I take all the time I need with them. 2. When Teachers Ask for Your Help, Always Give It Teachers often ask for extra hands for activities and functions that they sponsor for students. When these requests occur, I always volunteer. I know that by doing so, I not only build rapport with that teacher, but also I'm going to be with the children. When teachers need someone to watch their classes or when they are busy with an activity in another part of the school, I ask to cover that teacher's class. This allows me time with the students.These times often develop into terrific discussions that I would have missed had I not made an effort to be involved. 3. Sponsor a Club There are many clubs and organized sports in my school as I'm sure there are in nearly every school. I am not required to be an advisor to any of these clubs. However, I choose to be.Another teacher and I served as MathCounts advisors this past year, and it was the best thing I could have done. Not only was it good for the school and the children involved, but also it allowed me to have a chance to be with students that I may never have encountered. All of the time that I spent with those students was special, and I know that many of those students got more out of being involved in that program than just math skills. 4. Hang Around after School I know that after school is a great time to get work done. However, my most fulfilling work is done hanging around the front of the school or in the halls talking to students. If my job is to make contact with students and try to help them help themselves, then talking with them when they have time to talk is what I need to do.This is done very effectively after school. 5. Be Seen Students will find you if you're visible and present. …