Real-Life Communication
School counselors must communicate their concerns and plans to students
and parents. They must also listen to and understand the issues of the student.
"Communication
is the crux of the position," says Eric Sparks. He is a school counselor and
president of the American School Counselor Association.
You're a school
counselor and you're preparing to meet with a group of students referred to
you by their teachers. They have all been identified as having poor communication
techniques. You want to prepare an exercise to get them involved.
You
decide to take some problem statements and show students how they can change
them through better communication to get better results.
Here are
the problem scenarios. They all have the potential to lead to fighting or
arguing. Try to rewrite what you say in each situation to make
them more positive. You will present these to the group of students and get
them working on their own suggestions too.
1. You're late for
class and you have a good reason. You open the classroom door and your teacher
tells you to go to the office and get a late slip.
You say, "Why do
you always pick on me? Why don't you go to the office! This is totally unfair."
2. You worked hard on an English assignment and when you get
it back you see you got a C-. You're really disappointed.
You say,
"What kind of teacher are you? Did you even read my work? There's no way this
a C- paper."
3. A stack of books is pushed off the shelf near
your desk and makes a loud noise as books scatter across the floor. The teacher
turns around and calls your name.
You say, "What? I didn't do anything!
This is ridiculous -- I always get blamed. Maybe if you opened your eyes,
you'd know what was really going on around here."