School Counsellor With An Innovator's Mindset
Overview
This article is for the School Counsellor to read and reflect on their school year. This year more than ever mindset will matter.
School Counsellor with an Innovator's Mindset
The Innovator’s Mindset : Empowering Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros is a great book for School Counsellors to begin the dialogue of Innovation . Do you have an innovator’s mindset?
START FROM THE HEART
In order for a School Counsellor to have an innovator's mindset we must always begin to speak and listen from our heart to the heart of a child. We want the young people that we serve to have the skills to cope effectively with life. They will know pretty quickly if we are genuine.
Starting from the heart involves active listening. Sometimes our students need help, other times they need encouragement or support to find new ways to look at the world.
When you start from the heart you will ask yourself :
- What are my students passionate about?
- What can I do to help my student acknowledge their strengths?
- Does my student have any projects or ideas they might need help executing?
- What can I do as a School Counsellor that will help students be more successful?
- How can I assist students in graduating?
- What can I do differently today, this week, this month, this year?
- How can I collaborate with others so that it benefits students?
KEEP STUDENTS AT THE CENTER
Passionate School Counsellors who keep students at the centre of all they do can have a huge impact. As School Counsellors we know the reason we work with students is to be their advocate. Everything we say or do, should always keep this in mind. On line or off we should make sure we focus on what is best for students.
Ask yourself:
- How can I keep my students' needs a priority?
- What is it I need to do that will make a difference for this student at this moment?
BE HELPFUL
No matter what we do with and for students on-line and off we should always remember to be helpful. If we are not being helpful then we really are not doing what we are supposed to do. Being innovative means we will be able to not only help the students in our offices but will find ways to assist all students in our buildings. We could also impact those beyond the walls of the school and potentially see the world as our community. This is also important to remember when we are helping other School Counsellors from across the globe.
Ask yourself?
- How can I be most helpful for this student today and in the future?
- How can being innovative help the students and staff in my school?
MODEL WHAT YOU HOPE FOR
If we want students to be good digital citizens then we must become one ourselves. This is vital if we are to really help students into the future. Being innovative means acting on this today. Everything you post should be helpful, ethical and model what it is you hope students will do.
According to Bradley Bendle innovators are driven. How does you modelling being driven impact your students, your staff, yourself?
The 5 C’s Connect Confidentiality Collaborate Create Celebrate
Connect
As School Counsellors we all know how important a working alliance is to being able to make a difference. Connecting with students is essential to being and modelling an innovator’s mindset. Connecting with other School Counsellors online and off can affect everything you do to develop your Comprehensive School Counselling Program Plan. Connecting allows you to reflect on the work of others as well as reflect on your own practices. There are so many ways to connect. Here are a few examples:
- Staff meetings
- District meetings
- Google hangouts
- Blogs
- Vlogs
- Voxer
- Local leadership councils
- Writing articles
- Mentorship
- Supervising student counsellors
- Join the OER commons
Confidentiality
is essential for anyone with an innovator’s mindset. If you are sharing online and want to learn with and from others you must remember to keep this at the forefront of everything you post. Innovators know that with new technologies developing all the time we must always get permission when sharing all the great things students do. It’s great to share what your prevention teams are doing, but always make sure students have signed their media consent forms.
COLLABORATE
To come up with some of the best ideas of what works for students collaboration is key. Together we are better. Students benefit when we put our minds together to help them. Often when schools work together to assist students they come up with better ways to help them.
CREATE
School Counsellors now more than ever are finding ways to create to meet the needs of all the students in their Schools online and off. Collaboration assists School Counsellors in the creative process. Whether creating a youtube video to introduce themselves to share with the school community or creating something they can use in classroom lessons. School Counsellors with an innovative mindset will create.
CELEBRATE
not only should School Counsellors celebrate what is happening within their schools, but sharing and celebrating what they do through social media can lead to new ways of practising. Of course, we must always keep in mind confidentiality when sharing or celebrating. There are many positive, useful ways to share and celebrate what you do as a School Counsellor without breaching confidentiality.
“An Innovative mindset can be the greatest determining factor to help you achieve your true potential,” says Boll Hortz. How can you develop this mindset in yourself and your students?
Be a School Counsellor with an innovator's mindset.