Elementary School Counseling
  • Home
  • Marissa's Blog
  • Individual Counseling
  • Small Group Counseling
  • Classroom Counseling
  • School-Wide Programs
  • Storybirds
  • Store
  • Resources
  • Contact Information

When Skies Are Gray

12/6/2012

2 Comments

 
Do you have students who are chronically negative? Typically, these children have trouble making and keeping friends, often feeling rejected by their peers and the world at large. This is a "chicken or the egg" situation: Which came first, the rejection or the negativity?

I think it's important to empathize with students who feel excluded, but we still must address what students CAN control. While they cannot control their environment, they can certainly control how they respond to it. We, of course, must be mindful of mental health diagnoses and trauma that may contribute to a student's negativity. Therefore, some of my ideas may not apply to those specific situations.
A few weeks ago, I saw this video (left) on Saturday Night Live. It's about a man dealing with his complicated personal life while starting a new job as a mouse mascot.

This is for comedic purposes, but still shows how negativity and sadness can affect how a person responds to his/her environment. In the movie, whenever someone neglects to wave back, even if it was unintentionally dismissive, the man adds more proof to his negativity bank - "See, you were right. Everyone DOES hate you."

Additionally, this SNL video shows how uncomfortable and frustrating sadness and chronic negativity can be for other people.
Children (and, let's face it, many adults) often have little patience for negativity. When students' interventions, such as asking him/her to play or trying to rationalize why something "isn't so bad," do not work, it's easier for them to give up and blame the negative peer for not trying hard enough.

So, what do you do? I always give my students the first few minutes of a session to vent. Then, we move on to the positives so that I don't feed into the negativity and make it worse. For kiddos who struggle with identifying happy thoughts, I create a sticker chart to track all of the positives they can share with me. Each session, they have to name 3 good things in their life. Then, if they are able to complete the task, they add a sticker to the chart. We set a goal for the number of stickers we want to earn and once they reach their goal, they get to pick a prize from my prize box.
After a few weeks of tracking positive thoughts, I definitely notice a difference in my students. They come up to me to share good news and smile more. We also reflect on how their positive attitude feels, how it impacts their school day, and how others students respond to them. 

In a world of uncertainty, we have to focus on what we can control. In the words of Albus Dumbledore, "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light."

Let's help our students flip the switch and see the world through different eyes.
Picture
2 Comments
Valerie
12/7/2012 10:38:53 pm

I love this!! I work with several teachers who can so easily bring the rest of us down. I find myself avoiding these ladies :(. Thanks for the tips and the great clip....need to share it with my school.

Reply
Marissa Rex link
12/8/2012 02:57:41 am

No problem! Glad to help! :)

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    My name is Marissa Rex and I am a 1st Grade teacher and an elementary school counselor from Ohio. I hope you enjoy my site!

    Picture

    Picture

    Picture

    Archives

    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Academic Support
    Advocacy
    Anger
    Awards And Recognition
    Beginning Of The Year
    Behavior Management
    Book
    Bullying
    Career
    Classroom Counseling
    Collaboration
    Contests
    Creativity
    Deployment
    Divorce
    Documentation
    Feelings
    Friendship
    Gifted Education
    Giveaways
    Grade Level Transitions
    Grief
    Guest Blog Post
    Illness
    Incarceration
    Individual Counseling
    Interview
    Lgbt
    Linky Party
    Meetings
    Moving
    Natural Disasters
    Parent Involvement
    Positive School Behaviors
    Professional Development
    Reviews
    School Counseling Office
    School Staff
    School Wide Program
    Self Care
    Self Esteem
    Service
    Small Group Counseling
    Testing
    Video
    Video Podcast
    Vistaprint
    Volunteer Opportunity
    Website Recommendation


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Follow Me on Pinterest

    Tweets by @ESCorg

    Picture
    Picture
    Photobucket
    Picture
    Picture
    Teach.com
    Picture

    Picture
    Picture

    Ebates Coupons and Cash Back
2012-2017 Elementary School Counseling.org
FAQ        Contact        About