COUNSELORS WITHOUT CLOCKS
I realize it is fantasy to think that guidance counselors, whether at high schools or at non-profit organizations which facilitate students going on to higher education, do not eventually have to look at the clock when spending time with a student.
And I know that said counselors are increasingly burdened with paperwork and functional responsibilities which cut their aggregate student time, but it would be ideal to have a counselor assigned to a student as early as possible, let’s say the first year of middle school. (As is true with rigor in the teachers colleges themselves, the requirements to become a guidance counselor should likewise be raised.)
By starting early (including defining for the new student the role of a guidance counselor) and being consistently there for the student, the counselor would really know the person and be able to understand the drivers (both academic and personal) behind the student’s thinking, thus avoiding the dilemma of attempting to react at the last minute to a senior in high school suddenly announcing his future intention.
As a practical matter, maybe interaction at the younger years could be done once a year, as a baseline, and subsequently updated, information-gathering activity. This would provide the context for future short meetings, which eventually would be focused on more specific to-do items than in the initial conversations.
This approach would address the dilemma of too many young people in underserved high schools who find out important information too late in the projected process of applying to college or pursuing marketable skills.
Appropriate guidance counseling beginning years earlier would be associated with greater success at every step of the education ladder, enabling different participants to focus on what they do best. The “ideal” would be the most effective.