CR8 GR8: School Counselors as Creative Specialists

Greatness doesn’t happen by accident. It emerges through trial and error, hard work, frustrations and celebrations. As school counselors, we are surrounded daily with opportunities to create greatness. This issue of the newsletter focuses on creative counseling techniques, ways in which counselors have made an impact on students beyond the standard talking sessions grounded in counseling theory. While theory grounds our work, each student is a separate canvas, filled with untapped potential and promise. It is our job to find the best medium to use to help students create their own greatness.
 
Our creativity as school counselors reaches beyond our office walls. We are advocates, leaders, collaborators and agents of systemic change. These roles require a vision of what can be. This includes times when the canvas is blank or has been filled with unproductive, outdated or inequitable practices. School counselors must envision ways to reach those stakeholders who subscribe to the inappropriate roles of “guidance” counselors. We may hear, “We’ve never done this before” or “We’ve always done it this way” as we propose new school-wide initiatives or community partnerships. We must not be steered off track by negativism or naysayers as we engage others in our quest to positively affect school climate and academic achievement for all students.
 
Do you see yourself as a creative person? How do you define creativity? Are you comfortable taking risks? This quest begins on a personal level. Sometimes new things can be intimidating. What if your first efforts to use data to show effectiveness for the new study skills group doesn’t show improvement? What if your request to speak at the school board meeting is denied? Do you frame these as roadblocks or simply look for the detour?
 
So what if your first attempt at using outcome data doesn’t show the marked improvements you had hoped for? Get creative! Find what went well and keep doing that. Find the areas in which the program struggled and change them. Dig into evidence-based best practices. Use the data to improve your work.
 
Not allowed to speak at the school board meeting? Invite a board member to shadow you to see the lessons you are doing on mindfulness in all the fifth-grade classrooms. Share a PowerPoint presentation on your comprehensive program via email to the school board president. Attend a Chamber of Commerce meeting and ask to be on the agenda to discuss career development initiatives and partnerships. News about the creative programs you are doing will spread though channels outside of the school walls.
 
At times, creativity will mean failure. Henry Ford said, “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” When we, as school counselors, embrace this philosophy, we both grow our own creative muscles and set examples for our students. The vision of our comprehensive programs becomes clear.
 
On behalf of every student in the state of Michigan, I invite you to go out and “Cr8 Gr8.”
 
Contact Judy Williams, MSCA past president, at willijud@gvsu.edu.
 
Scenes from our August Leadership Retreat