You have chosen one of the best professions in the world and have the ability and educational know how to help others. This is a time like no other in our profession and you will need to be ok with uncertainty. It is important that you model calm , optimism and psychological safety for students whether you are online or off. Be prepared, be calm, be present, be a good digital citizen and be hopeful. You will find ways to engage students. That’s who you are and what you do. Trust the process and focus on what you can do today given the circumstances that will be most helpful. One of the first things I would recommend you do is join twitter and engage with other School Counsellors from around the world who are willing to help you. It will be one of the best decisions you make in your first year of being a School Counsellor. Connect with School Counsellors from across the world in #scchat or find a way to connect with other School Counsellors from your district, whatever way works best for you. If you don’t have a mentor, set up a mentorship group. It’s a great way to start your career and will continue to be one of the most helpful things you can do for yourself. Filter in the good , let go of the negative on twitter and you will find some amazing people who will become your trusted Professional Learning Network.
It is my belief that we have an awesome opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students especially during this time. What we say and do matters now more than ever. Students will forever remember how their School Counsellor interacted with them. How you connect, build relationship and assist students in feeling like they belong in a time when so many are dealing with collective trauma, collective and sometimes complex grief matters. There will be many feeling similar feelings you are feeling as you enter the profession at this time. You have chosen an amazing profession. Reach out we are here to help and support you.
Communication , connection , consultation and collaboration will be vital at this time. Communicating and connecting with your staff, with students, parents, district personnel, outside community agencies, and especially with other School Counsellors is essential. Use email, ZOOM, Google Meet ( beware of Zoom and Google meet burnout) and other creative ways to stay connected. You have an awesome role to play during this time with so many things to consider. In a Comprehensive School Counselling Program it is the responsibility of all. You are not in this alone.
Surround yourself with positive people those that lift you up especially on twitter or any other social media you engage in. Let go of the negative, stay focused on the positive. Remember what you say and do matters , so take time to take care of yourself that includes taking a break from any social media that you feel you need to at anytime.
I love lacrosse! Thanks to my past team mates Jane Walsh and Elaine McMullin Descoteaux for inviting me to do a keynote for female national box lacrosse championship players in 2017. It was an opportunity for me to give back and share my love of the sport. Lacrosse always has been my most favourite sport of the many that I have played.
I started playing lacrosse around 47 years ago (yes, females played lacrosse back then) in Shannon Park Wallis Heights with coaches Cliff Friesen and Donald Koharski. I have so many great memories of those days, We were lucky enough to play lacrosse in Ontario ,the CNE and in Vancouver, We went on to win the NS championships in 1973, so many fun memories.
Today I am a registered Psychologist, I was an educator for the past 40 years and I retired as a School Counsellor in a self- directed High School in Calgary three years ago this June.
None of that would have been possible without lacrosse. In 1976 I was awarded a lacrosse Scholarship from Canada Fitness and Amateur Sport . It paid for most of my University Education. I am so, so grateful for that today!
Lacrosse shaped my future.
I stopped playing lacrosse a year ago, but would play drop in if it were still on today. I joined again as an adult in 2008 and loved every moment. I am 61 years old and I played for the Calgary Women’s Master Lacrosse league until I was 60. I can’t run …. but boy can I shoot Tracy Klusky past captain of the Calgary Roughnecks once told me I had golden hands! I’m also really good at being a cherry picker …
Here is a video I put together a while back about the love of the game.
I hope all young lacrosse players think about these 5 things
Find your purpose
Play for the love of the sport , play for a lifetime
Be Passionate
Persevere
Pay it Forward
Find your purpose and be the leader you can be. You can be a leader on and off the floor. I would like to encourage young women worldwide to play this great sport!!!! Not only young women, but moms too. Yes, and dad’s too.
If there isn’t a team where you live START ONE . If there isn’t a scholarship to be found CREATE ONE or find someone who can. We live in a world where social media CAN be used for good SO DO IT be a good digital citizen and connect with others who want the best for young women in sports.
Did you know that 44% of girls between the ages of 3-17 don’t participate in sports? 84% of adult women don’t participate in sports at all. WE CAN CHANGE that stat TODAY. For those of you playing, you are the lucky ones because you get to play the greatest game on earth. So get out there PROMOTE this great game. YOU CAN BE A LEADER. According to Anita Franklin of the IOC “When a young woman athlete triumphs, she has become a role model for her family, her community and even her country” I KNOW YOU CAN TOO!
PLAY FOR THE LOVE OF THE SPORT and do it lifelong IF I CAN … YOU CAN TOO! Play fair , play respectfully and play hard.
BE PASSIONATE and always be kind. Life will give you back tenfold what you have given out.Passionate people according to research are happier and experience greater well being. My passions have afforded me great friendships, lifelong friendships that I treasure to this day. We have had so much fun together because of sport.
PERSEVERE when you persevere in sports and in life you get back up and keep going. Life throws us all challenges. We are all going to make mistakes and that’s OKthat is the way we learn. Lacrosse taught me to never give up!
PAY IT FORWARD you will learn many lessons through lacrosse. You can pay it forward by helping others. Maybe you will coach or volunteer in some capacity or maybe you will find small ways to give back, but make sure you just do it!
ONE PERSON CAN INDEED MAKE A PROFOUND DIFFERENCE that person could be YOU.
OUR NATIONAL SUMMER SPORT IS THE BEST.
I hope you as young women who play lacrosse go out there and make a difference not just in lacrosse, but in life and remember all the things that lacrosse has given you.! Sports helped me become a better human being and i hope some of you who read this will find that sports does that for you too be it lacrosse or any other sport, many of which I have loved and played like lacrosse, ringette, hockey, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and my latest love pickleball.
I hope you just play … it’s great for your overall well being. and it’s just plain fun!
“There are scores of people waiting for someone just like you to come along, people who will appreciate your compassion, your encouragement, who will need your unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because you took the time to share what you had to give.” Leo Buscaglia
This week I am fortunate to attend the Inspiring Leadership Form at The University of Regina. I look forward to listening to women who have had many challenges in life and turned them into opportunities to learn and grow and inspire young women to take leadership roles at an early age. As Dr. Vianne Timmons says to make sure we surround ourselves with others who lift us up.
Presently, I am running a leadership group for a group of grade five students. I recognize that in order for them to take on leadership roles, I must model positive leadership and expose students to as many leadership opportunities as I can at an early age.
Being a leader isn’t always easy. It involves being brave, having courage, love , hope, passion, risk, self awareness, strength and trust among many other qualities. Sometimes it means having a thick skin, not allowing negativity to stop us from reaching higher. Having a growth mindset helps young leaders learn that failure is not a bad word. It is how we learn and grow and gain the strengths to be positive leaders in many ways throughout life. We each have a role to play in being leaders.
As School Counsellors we are in a unique position to not only model leadership , but to provide opportunities for students to thrive as leaders of today and tomorrow who are advocates and not afraid to become the kind of people they are meant to be … not perfect, but full of potential helping to make this a better world.
Collaboration and connecting with other leaders will help us to find our voice and be the kind of leaders our young people need.
Inspiring leadership begins with me and I hope with you too.
As I reflect on Seth Godin’s blog today I am thinking about all the educators and what they are doing each and every day as they start a new school year.
Seth reminds us
that digital learning is a revolution that can transform people faster and with more impact
to play as if it matters
that dreams are difficult to build and easy to destroy
What do you think school is for and how will you make it better for students?
Ken Robinson always makes us think and I hope he does you too. Both Seth and Ken challenge us to move away from compliance and conforming to celebrating students learning. No learning … no education going on says Ken Robinson. So how do educators best go about helping students learn?
Ken reminds us
that human beings are naturally different and diverse
What do I believe are some important lessons for a new School Counsellor to be aware of ? These lessons will not be in order of importance, but are all lessons I feel are worthwhile for you .
Lesson #1: We can’t help everyone, but we can sure try to help the ones that come to us or are referred to us (and yes sometimes we need to go to them).
Students will often disclose very serious issues that you as School Counsellors need to address. Sometimes when you disclose to parents that their son or daughter is thinking of suicide or some other life threatening concern (the end result might be the student may never return to see you). Hopefully you have connected the student and their family to resources that can improve and indeed in some cases save their lives.
It is important for you the new school counsellor to not get discouraged if a student does not return to see you (don’t personalize it). You may have helped the students tremendously and yes indeed you may even save their life, but they will be unaware of just how at this present time in their life. Know that students have stopped me in stores and other places years later to let me know what a difference I made. So hang in there knowing that you did what you needed to do. It would be great to help all students , but unfortunately even if you do everything correct sometimes we lose a student and this will be absoltely devastating. So make sure you always debrief and get help for yourself.
It is also important to be self-aware, so always run by big concerns with another counsellor and see if indeed there was something else you could have done or ask what if anything could you have done differently. Remind yourself that you are in a process of learning.
Consult… consult… consult… a lifelong lesson for ALL School Counsellors.
It is also OK to recognize that you are NOT a match for every student. Hopefully there are other counsellors in your school or outside agencies that you can refer your student to if this happens. I let students know that they have a choice when it comes to counsellors and they need to see the person they feel most comfortable and safe with. Hopefully, that will be you , but if that is not so that is OK too.
Lesson # 2:We need to base what we do on theoretical perspectives that are useful and helpful. Humanists like Carl Rogers and Victor Frankl have impacted me, but so too have others in the field of psychology like Albert Ellis, Irvin Yalom, Fritz Perls, Ed Jacobs, David Burns, Virginia Satir, Donald Meichenbaum, Claudia Black
and Mary Pipher to name a few. There is no one right approach. You need to discover what you believe and make sure the theories work for you and your students.
Each theorist has impacted the way I interact and help students. Along the way I have also worked with some amazing school counsellors , educators and supervisors who have also influenced me in a positive way. Thanks especially to Ed Jacobs, Diane Williams, Deana Helton , Erin Mason , and Helen MacKinnon.
Lesson #3:Find great mentors and learn from them. One of my all time favorites is Ed Jacobs. Ed is a genuinely helpful man as well as being a great therapist. I love how he interacts and works with young and old people alike and makes a positive difference in the lives of others. Check him out on YouTube here:
Lesson #4:There are so many people and resources you can learn from that can impact students in a positive way. I think Leo Buscaglia has the best lessons that can be used in counselling students. I can honestly say I loved Leo . He was and still is an inspiration to me. Which brings me to an extremely important lesson … lesson #5
Lesson #5: Continually professionally develop yourself. Keep learning and learning and learning. One of my new favorite ways to do this is to connect with other school counsellors worldwide on twitter. See my past post on amazing school counsellors and what they are doing. My twitter handle is @sspellmancann. If you are not on twitter sign up TODAY! Join us in #scchat on the first Wed. of every month at 6:30 MT 8:30 ET. Post to #scchat anytime and there is always great resources there for you to access for free.
Lesson #6: Read great counselling books . A few I really like are : Impact Therapy by Ed. Jacobs, Creative Counselling Techniques by Ed. Jacobs, Group Counseling Strategies and Skills Jacobs, Masson, Harvill, Letters To A Young Therapist Mary Pipher, The Gift of Therapy Irvin Yalom, and Mans Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl.
As I think about the lessons I believe a new counsellor should be thinking about I realize that there are some practical considerations that a new counsellor might want to implement. Here are a few:
What are some basics that could be helpful to you as a new school counsellor?
Write an introduction letter to parents letting them know who you are and what you do and post it on the school counselling and school website. (If by chance your school does not have a website design a letter introducing yourself and put it in the school newsletter ( put it in the newsletter anyway.Tweet this out to students on the school twitter account and post it to the school Facebook account.
If you engage on social media please remember that NOTHING is PRIVATE ( even if you think it is ). Digital citizenship is a lesson we all need to learn.
Introduce yourself to as many teachers as you possibly can. In a large school, this will take time.
Plan to meet with your administration team at THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR and least once a month. Celebrate what you do and how you are doing. Discuss what the expectations are of a Comprehensive School Counselling Plan and how you can work together to accomplish this.
Counsellors and admin should be joint leaders in any school.
Show initiative. Everyone in a school will benefit. If you have some great ideas don’t be afraid to share or try out your ideas.
Discuss limits of confidentiality with every student. You might want to put a poster of the limits on your office wall.
Visually make your office a space students want to be in.
Develop a monthly calendar of things to do and check off when you complete them.
Have a plan when meeting new students. It is helpful to get a cell phone number so that you can follow-up.
It might be helpful to keep a notebook of all the things you need to know especially if you are in a new school or counselling a new age group.
You will want to find a simple and easy way to curate information. I use livebinders and pinterest. They can be extremely helpful tools for new counsellors as well as those that have been around for a while.
You need to be a positive PR person for the school counseling program , so find many ways to connect with students. Brainstorm with your colleagues ways to make connections with students so that they know who you are and what you do.
Connect with parents. Let them know through parent council or other means what you do.
Ask for help. You are not expected to know everything. Utilize the professionals inside and outside of your building for support.
Learn as you go about the many community resources that are available and put them in a binder or livebinder.
Don’t be afraid to share your innovative or creative ideas with your counselling team ( if you have one). They and you will benefit!
BALANCE we all benefit from taking care of ourselves. Don’t burn yourself out in the first year. Practice self-care.
You have a big learning curve. BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF.
I am adding one of my live binders called school counsellor resources. Please as in all my livebinders take what you like and leave the rest.
For all of you who are new to school counselling have a wonderful experience and know that what you do absolutely matters.
My next Lessons for a new School Counsellor will be posted soon.
Welcome to the best profession in the world School Counselling.
YOU are a leader ! What you say and do does matter .Technology can assist you in being an amazing leader who reaches the whole school population.
Technology is also a very important part of students lives today and will be even more prevalent in the future. School Counsellors can find a way to incorporate exciting new practices into their School Counselling programs. These changes can inspire not only your students , but they can help and inspire YOU the School Counsellor as well.
I hope you enjoyed my presentation on LOVE LEADERSHIP and SCHOOL COUNSELLING for the ATA Council for School Counsellors Conference. This blog is written just for you so you can look back and enjoy the resources , but I know if you were an attendee this all makes much more sense to you and you got a few freebies besides. Thanks for being there. I appreciate you giving of your valuable time.
If I can learn to use technology as a seasoned School Counsellor, you can too. I love technology and think it is essential to present and future School Counsellors. Why? Because it allows us to connect with students in their space as well as allows us an opportunity to connect to the whole school population. Of course there will always be a place and a space for meeting and connecting with students individually, but it is also extremely important to reach as many students as possible and that can be done through the use of technology.
Technology also allows us to develop a PLN with people from all around the world. In my opinion this is one of the best ways to connect with not only School Counsellors who are passionate, but also with other educators who use technology to assist them in improving and reflecting on what it is they do for students. Dr. Erin Mason @ecmmason my friend is an amazing leader when it comes to School Counsellors utilizing and creating ideas with technology and you were lucky enough to connect with her at this conference. Check out her SCOPE page if you haven’t already.I am so happy she is at this conference.
So, conference participants enjoy. Meeting , connecting , sharing and helping you is what I hope to do to pay it forward for all that has been given to me. The rest of this blog will be about the resources I think you as School Counsellors can use to make a difference.
#1 is Twitter so I encourage you to get an account today. It will transform your life and the life of your future students if used properly. Twitter is where it all began for me and then ETMOOC changed the way I offered parts of my School Counselling program. A special thanks to Alec Couros @courosa Ed tech professor extraordinaire and social media expert at the University of Regina. You will want to follow him and his brother George @gcouros a leader and fabulous administrator on twitter.
Advantages of twitter:
It allows for opportunities to connect, collaborate, share and learn from and with people from all over the world.
I have used Twitter and Google docs to collaborate with other School Counsellors and educators who have wanted to contribute to Mental Health in High School as well as many other projects.
Using the hashtags #SCCrowd and #scchat as well as some other great chats allows us to connect with School Counselling professionals who are more than willing to help us as we continue to work with and make a difference for students.
School Counsellor chat schedule
The instant anytime access allows me to get information or resources that I can utilize in an open manner which not only helps me , but may help others.
It also allows us a voice for reaching out to others to let them know that what we do matters.
Check out this post by University of Regina President Vianne Timmons saying School Counsellors Change and Save Lives click here.
This post has had thousands of people who have seen it. Social media can reach people quickly.
Twitter allows you as a School Counsellor to share and help other School Counsellors, School Counselling students and educators.
If you want to learn more about School Counsellors observe their twitter accounts. Please follow them using the hashtags you saw above #scchat #sccrowd and #escchat . You’ll get a good sense of how you too can be a positive digital citizen and model this for your future students.
Ask for help. Other School Counsellors and educators are always willing to help you. If you have questions or concerns please do not hesitate to ask.
One of the best ways you can find the best tech tools to use as a School Counsellor is to check out SCOPE School Counselor Online Professional Exchange. Spend some time there. It will be worth your time and effort.
#2 Haiku Deck As a School Counsellor you will have to give presentations or you may wish to share ideas or messages with students that you think are important. Haiku Deck @haikudeck is my number one go to app. It has a creative commons license built within the app that allows a visual experience that is like none other.
The power of social media to touch others is absolutely amazing. This simple @haikudeck on Who Matters? has had over 80,000 views . One never knows the impact a simple gesture can have online and off.
#3 Livebinders I love to use livebinders to organize and share useful School Counselling information. At Bishop Carroll High School we use livebinders to share large amounts of important information with students in a single space.
Here are two of our livebinders co-created by our School Counselling team Erin Luong @ehordyskiluong , Peter Damen and I :
Post Secondary Planning here
This Personal Wellness livebinder here
#4 Smore
There are so many benefits for using smores. Check out my smore with resources on LEADERSHIP here.
#5 iMovie / YouTube I use iMovie more and more to present to students information that I think will be helpful to them. Dean Shareski , a Canadian educator said once and it has stayed with me video trumps text, so I try to use video as much as possible to create information students can relate to and then upload the iMovie to YouTube. I do this all on my iPhone which makes things very easy for me.
#6 Blogs
Blogs are a great tool to create, connect and learn from others. For me creating blogs still requires a great deal of effort as I am still learning, but today’s example is a great way of sharing information with others from far away. I started my blog in May of 2013. It has had over 15,000 views from over 105 countries.
SCOPE blog
Check out the blog roll of School Counselors.
#7 Google docs are an amazing way to collaborate. I collaborate with our students on our Wellness committee and our Who’s Frank? team.
#8 Pinterest is a fabulous way to collate information and gather information for future use. I love the visual aspect of pinterest.Pinterest does indeed inspire creativity . I have used it for many things including creating School Counselling bulletin boards as well as for ideas for presentations.
#9 Google hangouts
Again, yet another great way to connect with School Counsellors and educators from across the world.
You can see that I use multiple tools in multiple ways to help me do a variety of things that help not only School Counsellors , but students as well. Three years ago I did not know how to do any of this so … if I can you can too.
Why do I keep learning? I think this sums it up. “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.” “When the mind is allowed to relax, inspiration often follows… If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.” Phil Jackson
The Innovator’s Mindset : Empowering Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros is an excellent book for School Counsellors to begin the dialogue of Innovation. Do you have an innovator’s mindset?
“When you are networked great ideas find you not the other way around”
George Couros
This quote is so true . I have been so fortunate to have great ideas and great people find me. Thanks to all of you.
So many amazing School Counsellors that I have met on twitter definitely have an Innovator’s mindset. I believe an innovator’s mindset continues to thrive, learn, reflect and seek out ways to make a difference.
As a School Counsellor with an Innovator’s Mindset Do you?
Start from The Heart
Keep Students At The Centre
Make Sure You are Helpful
Model What You Hope For
Utilize the 5 C’s
Build Relationships
START FROM THE HEART
In order for a School Counsellor to have an innovator’s mindset we must always begin to speak and listen from our heart to the heart of a child.
We want the young people that we serve to have the skills to cope effectively with life. They will know pretty quickly if we are genuine and start from our heart.
Starting from the heart involves active listening, compassion, trusting , caring and so much more. Sometimes our students need help, other times they just need the encouragement or support to find new ways to look at the world. Starting from the heart will make a difference.
When you start from the heart you will ask yourself :
What are my students strengths?
What are my students passionate about?
What can I do to help my students ?
Do my students have any projects or ideas they might need help executing?
What can I do as a School Counsellor that will help students be more successful?
How can I assist students in graduating?
What can I do differently today, this week, this month, this year to help the students in our school ?
How can I collaborate with others so that it benefits students and assist me to learn and grow?
KEEP STUDENTS AT THE CENTER
Passionate School Counsellors who keep students at the center of all they do can have a huge impact in their school communities. As School Counsellors you know the reason you work with students is to be their advocate. Everything you say or do should always keep this in mind. Whatever you do on-line or off innovative School Counsellors should make sure they remain focused on what is best for their students.
Ask yourself:
How can I keep my students needs a priority?
What is it I need to do that will make a difference for this students at this moment?
How is what I am doing by being innovative going to help students or other School Counsellors ( helping other School Counsellors or educators is helping students)
BE HELPFUL
No matter what school counsellors do with and for students on-line and off they should always remember to be helpful. Being innovative means school counsellors will be able to not only help the students in their offices , but will find ways to assist all students in their buildings.
School Counsellors could also impact those beyond the walls of their own schools and potentially see the world as their community. Helping other school counsellors and educators from across the globe helps students worldwide! How exciting and innovative is that?
Ask yourself?
How can I be most helpful for this student today and in the future?
How can being innovative help the students and staff in my school?
How can I help other school counsellors and educators worldwide?
MODEL WHAT YOU HOPE FOR digital citizenship
If you want students to be good digital citizens then you too must become excellent role models. This is vital if school counselors are to really help students into the future. Being innovative means acting on this today. Everything you post should be helpful, ethical and model what it is you hope students will do.
Ask yourself:
How can I become a digital citizen?
What skills do I need to assist me on this journey?
How do I connect with other school counsellors and leaders who are already great digital citizens?
How can I pass on to students what I learn?
The 5 C’sConnectConfidentialityCollaborateCreateCelebrate
Connect
As school counsellors you know how important a working alliance is to making a difference. Connecting with students is essential to being and modelling an innovator’s mindset. Connecting with other school counsellors online and off can affect everything you do to develop your Comprehensive School Counselling Program Plan. Connecting allows you to reflect on the work of others as well as reflect on your own practices. There are so many ways to connect. One of the most innovative people I have connected online with is Erin Mason @ecmmason . Thank you for all you do and if you haven’t connected with her and SCOPE please do. Here are a few examples of other ways to connect :
supervising student counsellors ( a great way to give back )
Ask yourself? What are some innovative ways I can connect with other educators?
Confidentiality is essential for anyone with a school counsellor innovator’s mindset . If you are sharing on-line and want to learn with and from others you must remember to keep this at the forefront of everything you post.
Innovators know that with new technologies developing all the time it is vital to always get permission when sharing all the great things students do. It’s great to share what your prevention teams are doing , but always make sure students have signed their media consent forms. Always keep in mind when posting online that you should never breach confidentiality. When discussing cases (if you do so when connecting with other school counsellors on any social media space) never give out any identifying information in any way.
Collaborate To come up with some of the best ideas of what works for students collaboration is key. Together school counsellors are better. Students benefit when we put our minds together to help them. Often when schools work together to assist students they come up with better ways to help them. Thank you Erin Luong @ehordyskiluong for collaborating with me on this post! You are an amazing school counsellor with an innovator’s mindset.
Create School Counsellors now more than ever are finding ways to create to meet the needs of all the students in their schools. Collaboration assists school counsellors in the creative process. Whether you are creating a YouTube video to introduce yourself to share with your school community or creating something you can use in classroom lessons. You know school counsellors with an innovative mindset create something that matters.
Celebratenot only should school counsellors celebrate what is happening within their schools , but should recognize that sharing and celebrating what they do through social media can lead to new ways of practicing . There are many positive , helpful ways to share and celebrate what you do as a school counsellor that will assist others.
Ask yourself: How do I celebrate the work of my students, my colleagues and other school counsellors from across the world?
Build Relationships
Are you truly a relationship builder?
RELATIONSHIP Builders who unleash talent= School Counsellors With An Innovator’s Mindset
How do you unleash the talent of those around you?
How do you create and environment where risks are encouraged ?
How do you share the great work and strengths of others?
Twitter allows School Counsellors to share the great things that students and staff in your schools are doing. Twitter is truly an amazing tool to celebrate and highlight the wonderful works and lives of others. Participating in a MOOC can also have that impact.
Innovation … there is so much more to learn. Wish I had the eloquent words to thank you George Couros for your leadership and your amazing voice. I so appreciate you for writing and sharing The Innovator’s Mindset . It is truly a gift to so many educators from around the world including me. I don’t read many books twice, but yours was worth it to reflect and go deeper.
Thank you George and Katiefor creating such a powerful MOOC for not only school counsellors to enjoy , but for so many other inspirational people from across the world to learn from.
Thank you to all those in #IMMOOC you are amazing and so open to sharing and learning along with me. A special thanks to Emily Clare @eclare_ahs for connecting with me and leading the voxer group. For the fabulous Sheri Edwards who is always inspirational so many thank you’s . To all those who shared their vlogs or blogs or tweets. I am very grateful!
I could not say it any better than Sheila Vick . You should follow her on twitter @sheila_vick. read what she had to say below:
When I reflect on why it has been so great, or what has made it so great, I realize the following:
We have been given a voice in the group.
We have had a lot of choice throughout the mooc.
We have been given autonomy throughout the mooc.
We have networked far and wide and through a variety of platforms.
We have built trust within the group which has provided a sense of psychological safety and has encouraged us to share stories and our beliefs.
We have been encouraged and empowered.
We have taken risks and stepped outside of our comfort zones.
There has been dialogue and competitive collaboration.
There has been so much reflection.
The enthusiasm and energy of the group has been contagious.
We have been encouraged to start where we are at.
We have shared the experience with many learning leaders.
We have been able to feel successful and therefore build confidence and competence.
The group has been full of fountains (no drains).
There has been a sense of empathy within the group.
We have been problem-finders and problem-solvers together.
We have created, created, created!
… and last but not least, like George, we are a group of Educators AND learners by passion.
If we can provide the above for our school counsellors, teachers and students, they can people with an innovative mindset too!
Won’t you join me in becoming a School Counsellor, educator , leader with an Innovator’s Mindset? I look forward to us collaborating. I love having a beginners mind don’t you? Find out more about IMMOOC here.
*Although not ready for this week throughout this MOOC I have been inspired to create a podcast . I will create one …any #IMMOOC ers want to help me?
To end with I’d like to CELEBRATE a couple of people:
#1 the amazing Erin Mason a true School Counsellor Educator with an Innovator ‘s Mindset … Video #1 below.
#2 My Principal Neil O’Flaherty @neilof12 a true Innovator and the lead learner in the second Video below Bishop Carroll a Self Directed High School In Calgary Alberta. A leader who encourages and supports any and all innovation . I am so fortunate to work alongside you.
#3 Canadian School Counsellors with an Innovator’s Mindset ( too many to mention ). Although many of you are at the beginning stages of twitter I look forward to reading and celebrating all the amazing work you do every day!
#4 YOU thanks for reading along ( if you have read this far) I appreciate you joining me on this #IMMOOC journey.
My biggest lesson this week is what a simple thank you can do to turn your day and your mindset around. I rarely have one of those days and this week I did. I did let my administrator know (at least some of what was going on) and he did one of the best things a true leader can do . He simply thanked me for all the work I do with students . He let me know he was there for me and glad I was there for students and yes it made a difference.
I felt heard and valued. It turned my mindset around. It freed me from the negativity I was feeling and was such a great role model for me. As a leader I forget that my staff needs a simple thank you too. I really try to remember to do that often through a note or a comment, but sometimes I forget to make the time to do what is so important. So I sent each person I work with closely with a little personal note this weekend and next week I will try to finish by sending all those who help me by giving them a note.
I was extremely honored to recieve an award last week from the University of Calgary Counselling Psychology Program. Ph. D students I had previously supervised took the time and effort in their busy schedules to recommend me for an excellence in practicum supervision award . It was their BIG thank you and I am truly, truly grateful. They took the time to write such beautiful words and say thank you in a big way. Taking the time to thank people is truly a gift that you can give others. You have asked me to display it proudly and so I will.
However, this week that simple thank you helped to change my mindset and I believe will impact what I do next week and in the future with others.
Be on the look out for my thank you to IMMOOC.
Who will you send a simple thank you to … this week?
I was privileged to attend the Born 2 Lead B2L Conference in Calgary this week thanks to the generosity of Ildi Wiley with students from Bishop Carroll High School.
Why do we still need to empower young women? There are so many reasons. I will highlight a few.
According to the Parkland Institute , (Catalyst A think tank )
In Alberta
8% of women sit on boards (the national average is 14%)
it will take 228 years to close the gender gap
in 1976, the wage gap was 62%,in 2015 it is 63%
women make up 2/3 of all part-time workers
In the New Soft War on Women Caryl Rivers and Rosalind Barnett highlights several reasons why we need to empower woman , including an Indiana University study that says over a lifetime of work women with a bachelors degree will earn a third less ( some 700,000) less than a man with the same degree. Do we need to empower young women?
Yes indeed we do! We need to have mentorship and role modelling for young people . Our young women need to know that they can rise up and take on leadership roles.
The Born 2 Lead conference is one way young women can begin to find these mentorship opportunities. Young women can look forward to another conference next year as this year was the first in Calgary.
No matter what your start in life doesn’t mean it has to be your finish YOU CAN LEAD
There are women all around you that care about you and your wellbeing
In order to act like a leader think like a leader , say yes to something that you would usually say no to because you were afraid of failing.
What anyone says about you good or bad doesn’t matter Barb Stegemann
No one can take your joy from you ever Barb Stegemann
Emotional capital is worth more than anything Barb Stegemann
Viktor Frankl’s book Man Search for Meaning is loved by many women including me. Young people need to read this book.
Think about what you want to be one year , two years , three years from now . How will you get there?
Technological skills do matter to the business world
Digital Citizenship is important and a message given at this conference. Yes, I was so happy to see them mention just how important it is when getting and keeping a job! See more here.
When young women go into the workforce they should understand what a good linked in profile looks like
Young women need to build their employability traits through networking, service learning, volunteering and work experience
You have to be your own champion. It is ok to share your strengths with others
Never under estimate your ability to be resilient to rise above the nay sayers
“Each of us carries within a secret yearning-a yearning that as time and life march on, often becomes a secret sorrow. That yearning will be different for each of us; it is the most deep longed for expression of self. Only to the degree that each of us are able to bring forth our own heart’s core will our lives be fulfilled, truly worthwhile.”
Lighting the Torch The Kinder Method of Life Planning 2006 George Kinder and Susan Galvan
I wish for ever young woman and actually every youth I work with that they are able to bring forth their own heart’s core and live a fulfilled life.
So young women know that you are Born to Lead. Rise up and do it! I know you can.
Are you thinking about what it means to be an open leader?Click on the archive to find out more , you’ll see a webinar by Christina Hendricks and Dr. Erin Mason : Archive of Open Leadership Webinar.
Everything you say or do should always keep this in mind. Whatever you do on-line or off innovative School Counsellors should make sure they remain focused on what is best for their students.
This is vital if school counselors are to really help students into the future. Being innovative means acting on this today. Everything you post should be helpful, ethical and model what it is you hope students will do. 
Counsellor Talk : Creative Collaborative Connections 