From the Chair: The Power of Rapport

In October 2010, I woke from a deep sleep at 3 a.m. to my doorbell ringing. Half asleep with my heart beating out of my chest, I looked out the peephole and saw a young man standing there. Panicked, I asked, “Who is it?” Silence. I asked again and this time my Australian shepherd, Lucky, let out a fierce bark. Even more panicked now, I repeated, “WHO IS IT?” His response: “Do you have any mustard?”
 
The next day the police informed us that the house next door was burglarized. I Googled mustard. It’s slang for heroin.
 
What drives a young kid to ring my doorbell at 3 in the morning looking for “mustard?” Three things come to mind; boredom, accessibility and disconnection. I’ve always loved the African proverb, “The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” When students don’t feel connected with a caring adult, it’s almost as if they rebel because they want a connection so desperately but feel rejected. Building the rapport students so desperately crave is very difficult, due to school counselors’ high ratios and teachers’ outrageous class sizes. Rapport is especially necessary when students do not have a caring adult in the home.
 
See more data on the impact student-to-school counselor ratios have on student outcomes.

My 15 years as a school counselor have taught me that kids thrive in an environment where they know they are loved, they are cared for and they matter. Do not underestimate the power that student rapport has on student success. Could Arizona’s teacher retention crisis have something to do with the rise in the teen opioid crisis? Could Arizona’s lack of public funds and investment in school counselors have something to do with students’ mental health needs going unaddressed?
 
Trained, masters-level, certified school counselors are the experts needed for mental health resources. Many times drug use is a symptom of unmet mental issues. According to the Johns Hopkins Health Review, “the odds of teenagers suffering from depression grew an astonishing 37 percent from 2005 to 2014. It’s estimated that three million adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 have had major depressive episode in the past year alone.” The March for our Lives student-led group has demanded more support to deal with their social/emotional needs. Many children suffer complications from growing up in a violent environment that includes depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, which makes it more difficult to be engaged and productive in school. They are also demanding additional mental health training for educators to promote early intervention and recognize early signs of developing mental illness.
 
As I circle back to the young man who came to my door asking for mustard; I hope and pray he finds a caring adult who lets him know he is loved, he is cared about, and he matters.
 
Contact Janine Menard, AzSCA board chair and 2018 Advocate of the Year, at jmenard@isaacschools.org.