Emotional well-being focus of student counsellor
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Jan 12/01) - A boy with a long face is sitting on the bench in the Ecole St. Joseph school office.
"You in trouble?" asks a visitor.
"Yeah," he says quietly.
"Big trouble?"
"No."
"Who do you see, the principal or the vice-principal?"
"Vice-principal, I think," he says.
Vice-principals are probably a lot different today, but there was a time when sitting on that bench was about the same as awaiting a meeting with a tyrannosaurus.
Evening out the playing field for young students in situations like that is part of the job of counsellor Carol Ostrom.
Unlike career-oriented counselling, Ostrom's focus is the emotional well-being of the students of Ecole St. Joseph's school. The thinking is, young people who feel good about themselves make better students.
"I'm here to provide support to the kids," explained Ostrom. "So that could be providing a listening ear, advocating for them or conflict mediation."
Ostrom stressed that mediating conflicts between students and teachers make up only a small part of her job at St. Joe's.
"I really like the environment I work in here because students are treated as people. They're valued and their thoughts and ideas are valued."
In addition to providing a listening ear and mediating disputes, counselling includes helping kids deal with the intense social dimension of school, boosting their self esteem, helping them cope and deal with difficulties at school and at home, and simply providing a hug when one is needed.
Students at the kindergarten to Grade 8 school wishing to see Ostrom can either drop by her office, which is filled with games and toys, or leave a note in the mail box on her office door.
In October, at the suggestion of a student, Ostrom started a new program called Peacekeepers.
"The response from the kids was overwhelming," recalled Ostrom.
"There were at least 60 students who wanted to be a part of it."
She trained 20 students to help mediate disputes among their peers.
/They take turns keeping the peace on the playground at lunch hours.
Another 10 peacekeepers will be finishing their training in two weeks.
