Counselor's Corner

On Friday, the fourth-grade students and their advisors assembled 84 care packages for fellow Austinites who live on the streets or in poverty. After we finished assembling the bags, we met for a debriefing on the school patio. It went something like this: “Let’s talk about what we put in those bags. Each bag had two pairs of socks. Why are socks important to people who live on the street or in shelters?” We discussed how socks keep our feet warm and cushion our feet when we need to walk long distances. Additionally, a second pair of socks becomes useful when the first pair gets wet in the rain. “We also put two packages of Band-Aids in each bag. Why are Band-Aids important?” We discussed how important it is to protect your skin when it gets hurt. Band-Aids keep our injured body parts clean and protected from dirt. “Each bag also had a package of wipes. Why are wipes important?” We talked about how wipes can work with the Band-Aids to clean cuts and burns when the person

“Mommy, could I have this?” Four-year-old Angel showed me a bright green, foam guitar that had a black backing. I almost said no. I didn’t want to encourage store begging or impulse shopping. I looked at the price tag. $5.99. Then I looked at those brown eyes and said yes. We agreed it would be an early Valentine’s Day present. And it was a good investment of my money. He carried that guitar everywhere. We go to an Episcopal church in East Austin. We attend the 5:30 service that features an incredible band and choir. On an average Sunday, they are excellent and, on Mardi Gras Sunday, they take it to a new level. The energy in the room is palpable and meets the goal of sending people into the somber season of Lent with inspiration and vitality. On Mardi Gras Sunday 2015, Angel came downstairs, announced he was ready to go, and grabbed his guitar. He played his guitar from the pew throughout the service. As the band prepared for the closing song (“When the Saints Go Marching

My public apologies to Angel and Giovanni’s reading and math teachers. We didn’t do any homework last night. We didn’t even get the three-ring binders out of their backpacks. Although some of you may disagree, I think we did something more important. We assembled Valentine’s Day cards for their fellow fourth graders and advisors. Fourth grade is an interesting year for Valentine’s Day talk. Children at this age are in the developmental stage between platonic love for friends and emerging love for potential romantic partners. To exemplify the struggles that characterize this “in the middle” stage, a couple weeks ago, many fourth graders had a strong, aversive reaction to a kissing scene in the movie Wonder . My fellow SEL teaching comrade and I shared a smile during their dramatic attempts to shield their still-very-young eyes from the brief, awkward, first-kiss scene between two teenagers on screen. Later Angel told me that he really enjoyed the movie, but not the kissing scene

Do you remember the children’s nursery rhyme about Humpty Dumpty? The egg was sitting on the wall, enjoying life until he fell, crashed and presumably shattered beyond repair. In my (current) favorite children’s book ( After the Fall…How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again ), Dan Santat picked up the story where the nursery rhyme ended. In his sequel, the king’s men were able to patch up Humpty Dumpty. [I assume the horses lacked the fine motor skills necessary to be helpful.] He was more battered than he was prior to his life-threatening traumatic experience, but he survived and resumed navigating life. Except he wasn’t the same anymore and he had scars. He also had new fears as a result of his life experience and previously enjoyed activities were upsetting trauma reminders. He attempted to create a life that limited his exposure to scary things and that didn’t fare well. He tried to create distractions from missing his previous life, but that didn’t work either. Eventually, he s