5 Minutes

As a Guidance Learning Counselor (GLC) sub this past week, I have tried to make as much impact as possible on a child's psyche and thinking about her/his abilities within five minutes. Each of my interactions has averaged about five minutes. Sure, there are examples that took longer, some of which I have mentioned in previous posts. But for the most part, the kid comes in, spend a few minutes with you (mostly time spent trying to get the computer to do what you need it to do), before they return to class and their daily activities.

Five minutes. That's all you get as a GLC. Therefore, I have tried to be a good steward of that time and do my best to always prioritize the needs of a kid before any paperwork or straight administrative responsibility. My motto has been to keep the kids happy - and that no amount of time can be considered too long when helping one of the kid's in my office get what they need. Indeed, I have felt so fulfilled this week helping kids get that teacher they really want or helping a teacher reduce their class size or working with the other Administrators to ensure a seamless and fluid movement to the day.

At one point today, I sat back and realized that "in another life" (where I'm not in med school), being a GLC would be EXACTLY what I would want to do. It uses all my best talents for working with kids - keeping them interested, involved, passionate! It involves coordinating with adults and delegating responsibilities to adults based on their needs and talents. It is that "job" that doesn't feel like it because you wake up in the morning and are super excited to go and make a difference.

Highlights for today and final thoughts:
1. I really impressed the other administrators - they want me back next week when the other GLC will be out on Thursday and Friday. They were all extremely helpful and kind and nice and made the job super easy to fit right in and help out. THANKS SCANDINAVIAN ADMIN!

2. Kids have started to recognize me and call me "Mr. Tigger" since I wear a Tigger keychain on my lanyard. At lunch, my lunch line WANTED the "Answer a Question to Eat" - I ask the kids a question, usually Science related, before I let them through the line. A lot of the kids love it. Other kids just enjoy talking with me about how their day has been going while we wait for the lunch line to open up so I can send some more of them on through. And yes, of course, there are those that give me the "can you just hurry up and move out the way so I can eat" look - they are middle schoolers after all!

3. A child today came in after school needing a bus pass. As is usual, he was first told no by every adult who was there at the time, until they actually stopped to listen to the reason he needed it. As he was leaving, he stepped into my office and started telling me about why he was kicked off the football team this afternoon. Half way through, one of the secretaries came in to tell him he had to leave - but I said I had invited him in to chat. So he sat down and started describing how the area he was doing sit-ups at had ants crawling around and so he got up to dust them off and the Coach thought he was being lazy and just kicked him off. I'm sure there is more to the story - probably the Coach made some rude comment, ticked the kid off, so the kid said something back and VOILA - the one with the power (adult/coach) said "you're done." It amazes me how much power we have as adults that we squander or use inappropriately - and it breaks the spirit of a kid. It kills me inside to know that this kid may lose his chance to participate in something he absolutely loves and is passionate about...over ANTS! So he and I had a long discussion about passions. That when you are passionate about something, like football, you don't let one setback stop you from going for your dream. I told him he should cool off over the weekend and on Monday, ask the Coach in a professional way to sit down and talk with him about the situation and to ask the coach to let him back on the team. The kid's gut instinct was to say (and he did say): "I'm not speaking with that man." So I told him to listen to my words carefully - when you are passionate about something, you try every legal, professional, and respectful way to get it. Our conversation ended with him asking "Who are you?" and thanking me for taking time to talk.

4. Time is the most important resource we have with our kids. Spending and using that time wisely is an imperative we must not take lightly.

5. And finally, the spirit of a kid is a beautiful thing. We must realize the power we have to build up a kid - or strike them down - with our actions and words. I am beyond thankful for the opportunity over this past week and I hope I used it well to build up as many kids as possible!