Steady as Steel
By Lori Hartman | August 2020
“There will be days when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you.”
“The Day You Begin” is a children’s book written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael López. It is a sweet story of the first days that you experience something new, maybe the day you being a new school. Those first hesitating steps into a new place, with new people and new experiences, commonly come complete with insecurity and anxiety. Jacqueline Woodson’s work is beautifully relatable with themes relating to how it feels to be the “other” and the comfort of being accepted and embraced by those around you.
As a former English teacher, I have always found that books move me to understand new perspectives and to also understand myself. I mention this book because, in many ways, each of us is experiencing this right now – we are beginning and redefining ourselves and our profession with what is now a new and changing delivery system, demanding a flexible set of skills.
(The quotations in this article are from “The Day You Begin” by Jacqueline Woodson.)
“There will be times when the world feels like a place that you’re standing all the way outside of.”
These times. As school counselors, we are trained to listen, to look in the eyes of joy and fear, to build scaffolds and supports for our students when even they cannot see the potential that they bring to the world. We are living, breathing hope. School counselors now need to find new ways to build relationships and create programs. We are called upon to use websites, Bitmoji calming rooms and Bitmoji offices (I never knew that was a thing); we are asked to create and deliver to ALL of our students quality lessons via Google Classrooms or Schoology. There have never been so many resources available to us, and we have never needed them so badly. The apparent barriers from today are our opportunities to shape the future we will build tomorrow.
“All that stands beside you is your own brave self – steady as steel and ready even though you don’t yet know what you’re ready for.”
It is lonely work sometimes. You will feel like a fraud. You will be misunderstood and undervalued. You will not know what is coming in this sea of change. But you will also know that this is what you were born to do. The Japanese have a word, ikigai. It means your life’s worth, purpose, reason for being. Your work isn’t only the job that you love, nor the set of skills that you are good at and for which you are paid. Rather, your work is what the world now desperately needs. The recognition of this “ikigai” is the apex of your career self-actualization.
“There will be days when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you... until you begin to tell your story.”
You will tell your story every day, in every action, and in every written word. You will be misunderstood, but you will show the community your value in eager willingness to help. When you are questioned about the “soft science” of counseling, you will show them hard numbers. You will make hard decisions and show them your soft side while using the data of academics, discipline and attendance.
“Where every new friend has something a little like you – and something else so fabulously not like you at all...This is the day you begin.”
You are the answer. You and the unique art you bring to your world and your school and your students. Stand up and use your voice – stronger now with confidence and certainty. In times like these, in the middle of a pandemic and social injustice and anxiety, you have been training for this. You know what to do. If you are unsure, you know who to ask: Fellow school counselors. Your students. Teachers. Principals. Parents. You know how to ask and to engage your community. You know how to value each voice. That is your ikigai. This is your day to begin.
Jacqueline Woodson was named the Young People's Poet Laureate (2015-17) and the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress (2018-19). Her books make for nice counseling lessons; some for elementary-aged students can also be used at the middle school or possibly high school level. The book "Each Kindness" has themes with strong social/emotional connections. I created an iMovie of her book "The Day You Begin."
Contact Lori Hartman, MSCA Governing Board member, at lorihartman@whitehallschools.net.
“The Day You Begin” is a children’s book written by Jacqueline Woodson and illustrated by Rafael López. It is a sweet story of the first days that you experience something new, maybe the day you being a new school. Those first hesitating steps into a new place, with new people and new experiences, commonly come complete with insecurity and anxiety. Jacqueline Woodson’s work is beautifully relatable with themes relating to how it feels to be the “other” and the comfort of being accepted and embraced by those around you.
As a former English teacher, I have always found that books move me to understand new perspectives and to also understand myself. I mention this book because, in many ways, each of us is experiencing this right now – we are beginning and redefining ourselves and our profession with what is now a new and changing delivery system, demanding a flexible set of skills.
“There will be times when the world feels like a place that you’re standing all the way outside of.”
These times. As school counselors, we are trained to listen, to look in the eyes of joy and fear, to build scaffolds and supports for our students when even they cannot see the potential that they bring to the world. We are living, breathing hope. School counselors now need to find new ways to build relationships and create programs. We are called upon to use websites, Bitmoji calming rooms and Bitmoji offices (I never knew that was a thing); we are asked to create and deliver to ALL of our students quality lessons via Google Classrooms or Schoology. There have never been so many resources available to us, and we have never needed them so badly. The apparent barriers from today are our opportunities to shape the future we will build tomorrow.
“All that stands beside you is your own brave self – steady as steel and ready even though you don’t yet know what you’re ready for.”
It is lonely work sometimes. You will feel like a fraud. You will be misunderstood and undervalued. You will not know what is coming in this sea of change. But you will also know that this is what you were born to do. The Japanese have a word, ikigai. It means your life’s worth, purpose, reason for being. Your work isn’t only the job that you love, nor the set of skills that you are good at and for which you are paid. Rather, your work is what the world now desperately needs. The recognition of this “ikigai” is the apex of your career self-actualization.
“There will be days when you walk into a room and no one there is quite like you... until you begin to tell your story.”
You will tell your story every day, in every action, and in every written word. You will be misunderstood, but you will show the community your value in eager willingness to help. When you are questioned about the “soft science” of counseling, you will show them hard numbers. You will make hard decisions and show them your soft side while using the data of academics, discipline and attendance.
“Where every new friend has something a little like you – and something else so fabulously not like you at all...This is the day you begin.”
You are the answer. You and the unique art you bring to your world and your school and your students. Stand up and use your voice – stronger now with confidence and certainty. In times like these, in the middle of a pandemic and social injustice and anxiety, you have been training for this. You know what to do. If you are unsure, you know who to ask: Fellow school counselors. Your students. Teachers. Principals. Parents. You know how to ask and to engage your community. You know how to value each voice. That is your ikigai. This is your day to begin.
Jacqueline Woodson was named the Young People's Poet Laureate (2015-17) and the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress (2018-19). Her books make for nice counseling lessons; some for elementary-aged students can also be used at the middle school or possibly high school level. The book "Each Kindness" has themes with strong social/emotional connections. I created an iMovie of her book "The Day You Begin."
Contact Lori Hartman, MSCA Governing Board member, at lorihartman@whitehallschools.net.