President’s Letter: Shining Stars Making a Difference

With the start of a school year, many challenges arise that we as counselors are called upon to help solve. You truly shine during these times. I hope that now our year will begin to slow a bit and we will have time to really work with the students who need our help. I am reminded of the story of the boy walking along the beach covered in starfish that had washed ashore. He walked along the beach picking up starfish one by one and throwing them back into the sea. When told that there were too many to save and that he was not making a difference, he picked up a starfish, replied, “I did make a difference to this one,” and threw it into the ocean.

As we work with our student “stars” each day, I challenge each of us to think about helping them to reach for the stars by modeling and instilling a growth mindset in each one. I have noticed that too many times, students will not try something new due to their fear of failure. Society has made making a mistake a negative when really, a mistake is a chance to learn and grow. This type of thinking does not just happen, but is a concept that can be taught. Carol Dweck’s book “Mindset” is a great resource to learn more about how a growth mindset can be developed. Using the power of the word “yet” at the end of a phrase has a great impact on the thinking of our students. When a student tells you they don’t like or are no good at something, encourage them to add the word yet. Using “yet” leaves room for change and room for improvement. When we work with students on changing their way of thinking about their goals from just focusing on the final product to thinking about the effort, strategies used and the process it takes to reach the goal, we are giving them the tools for when they face greater challenges.

Thank you again for the work that you do daily that often goes unnoticed. Just as the boy made a difference for each starfish he threw back into the sea, you are making a huge difference for your students, school and community.

Contact Terri Callaway, ArSCA president, at terri.callaway@warrensd.org.