You may remember a school-wide program we implemented at my school that involved grade levels earning ice cream scoops for showing respect in the cafeteria. Well, that program was a success, so we decided to try another good behavior competition using a popcorn theme.

The big difference, other than the visual, is that grades can earn their reward much quicker (2 school weeks).

For more information about our good behavior competitions, check out this page.

Within the last week, Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches" video has been plastered over social media accounts. In fact, I discovered it through Carli Counsels, a wonderful new elementary school counseling blog.

It's amazing how quickly good resources and thought-provoking content can spread! I love that I am able to better my school counseling program by engaging in social media. (Insert shout-out to Marty Stevens for encouraging me to join Twitter in the first place!) 

If you haven't watched "Real Beauty Sketches," what are you waiting for?! Press play...NOW! ;)

I am fairly confident that if I were in these women's shoes, I would have been just as hard on myself. This begs the question: If we are consciously or subconsciously self-haters, how can we teach young children to avoid that path? How an individual feels about their outward appearance is usually quite apparent - body language and clothing choices, in particular, give you away. So, wouldn't our students notice that we are not practicing what we preach? They are looking to us for advice, but are we qualified to give it? I think it's time for us to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

The Dove Social Mission, in general, is a wonderful resource for school counselors. I think you could use almost any of their videos or materials with your intermediate level students. Personally, I would opt for 5th and 6th graders.

I created a companion workpage (left) for the "Real Beauty Sketches" series, that would give students the opportunity to share how they see one of their peers. This would work best in a small group setting, so students have the chance to reflect and share in a more controlled, safe environment.

I have conducted a similar lesson called "Compliment Circle," an activity where group members must provide positive feedback for everyone in the group. I start by giving every student a piece of blank paper and having them write their name at the top. Then, everyone passes their paper to the person on their left. The students write something positive about the person on their paper. When everyone is finished, we pass the papers again. This continues until the students have written on every paper but their own. Before the compliments are revealed, I have students discuss how they are feeling (anticipation, worries, etc.). Then, students read their compliments. Again, we reflect as a group on the peer feedback and discuss how this could positively impact our friendships.

Once students hear positive feedback from their peers, it's important to work on their own "inner critics" as well. Sometimes, we rely too heavily on praise and reassurance from others - we need to learn how to generate that from within. You could do this by having students complete the above workpage for themselves (before seeing what their peer created), then compare the two.

I hope there will be a day when image will no longer hold us back, preventing talented individuals from reaching their dreams and performing to their fullest potential. In the meantime, we need to help each other see what's REALLY reflecting in our mirrors...and that's beautiful. :)

I recently discovered two AMAZING picture books by Jon Klassen called I Want My Hat Back and This is Not My Hat. Both stories involve a missing hat, a frustrated hat owner, and sneaky, hat-snatching behavior. The difference lies in the perspective: I Want My Hat Back is about the search and This is Not My Hat is about the escape.

School counselors could easily use these stories to talk about stealing and lying, both of which have negative consequences. It would be interesting for students to imagine what caused the animals to steal, then discuss how all of the characters could have handled the situation more positively. This could be done as a writing activity or roleplay. You could even create a class book that follows the same structure, but shows the characters making the right choices.

If you've been following my blog, you know that I have been incredibly busy in the theatre world this year. In the last 7 months, I have performed in 5 local productions, including From Up Here, I Hate Hamlet, The Dinner Party, The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later. The Laramie shows were performed in the same weekend, which required the actors to learn 2 full-length plays and collectively, over 100 characters.

For those who may not be familiar, The Laramie Project is about a theatre company that traveled to Laramie, Wyoming in the wake of Matthew Shepard's brutal beating. Matthew was gay. One night, he was tied to a fence and savagely beaten by two Laramie men. When he was found, Matthew was barely breathing and days later, he died in a Poudre Valley hospital. 10 years later, members of the Tectonic Theater Project returned to see how things had (or had not) changed since Matthew's murder.

I also try to pick projects that I am excited about, especially since I have to devote so much time and energy to them. The Laramie Project has been one of my dream shows since my freshman year at Bowling Green State University, when I read it for the Honors Program's "community read." It broke my heart as I discovered more about Matthew Shepard and the town he lived in. It forced me to have an opinion, a stance, and a voice.

Soon after watching a live performance at BGSU, I checked out HBO's film version of The Laramie Project, which is extremely powerful and brings the Laramie voices to life in a honest, heartfelt way. I encourage you to watch the film because it sparks great discussion about our communities and nation.

Finally, I wanted to share a powerful video that leaves us with, as Doc O'Connor says in The Laramie Project, "H.O.P.E."

I couldn't help but tear up as I saw Matthew's picture appear. What would our world be like without hatred?

I like to think that, as school counselors, we can help our students stand above the negative actions they see in the news, in films, and in video games. I want to create free-thinkers who can recognize when injustice is occuring.

I want to be the change. I hope you do too.
Imagine...