In my day-to-day school counseling world, I spend a lot of time reading between the lines. I am constantly scanning my surroundings to informally check-in with hundreds of students and dozens of staff members. In the hallway, we exchange our "Hi, how are you?" pleasantries, but the responses are typically riddled with hidden messages. A few years ago, I had one clever student explain to me that he always responds with "good" because it's not bad enough or special enough to warrant further conversation. When you want to disappear, bland vocabulary can be your best friend. When you need help, but are afraid to ask, "fine" can be all that squeaks out. |
| A friend of mine recently posted this thought-provoking video on Facebook. It deals with the underlying causes of bullying, particularly why individuals feel the need to lash out and hurt others. I must warn you that this video contains some harsh language and mature themes. I still, however, felt it was important to share because school counselors work with both sides of bullying and must find a way to pull back the layers of lies, hurt, embarrassment, shame, and fear to get to the truth. Only then can there be hope of long-term solutions. With that, I'll leave you to have a GREAT (not good) day! |