Changes in the N-K Counseling Department
By Renwick, Amy on May 01, 2015
Viking Dispatch Article- May
By Amy Renwick
Since I was a child, I have always resisted change of almost any kind, which is probably why I took a plain turkey sandwich, applesauce, and a pudding snack pack to school for lunch with me for six straight years. When in despair because a friend moved away, or because my teacher went on maternity leave and I didn’t like the substitute, my mother liked to sing the chorus of this old Patty Loveless song: “Mama whispered softly, time will ease your pain. Life’s about changing, nothing ever stays the same.”
Yesterday, word got out that if students checked their schedules under the 2015-2016 school year in JMC, they could see their next year’s schedules. Immediately, students flooded me with emails and stops by my office— “Ms. Renwick, that’s not what I wanted!”— to complain about perceived injustices that I had done to them regarding the schedules they had taken a peek at. The schedules they saw are just drafts— the best I could do without their and your input.
This year, in order to better meet students’ needs, I asked students to update their four-year plans and just tell me how they wanted to fill their eight periods next year, without fitting these classes in to specific periods. Then, I entered all of the classes into JMC and used their software to make the schedule based on how many students were interested in taking the class and which periods the classes could be offered with least amount of conflicts.
Many of the students are lucky and have no scheduling conflicts. Others may have to choose between two classes they wanted. Unless they are a senior, they should be able to choose classes from their four-year plan that will work with the Master Schedule that has been created. In the end, the students and I will work out a schedule that works for everyone and also complies with the graduation requirements, other rules, and state laws.
That Patty Loveless song has been playing in my head as I get messages from concern for students, and I feel empathetic because I know it feels uncomfortable to undergo change. However, I do believe in change that better serves our students, and I believe this new way of doing things accomplishes that. While the 11th grade is feeling very uneasy with this new process, 8th grade students have never known things any other way and are not stressing about it like the upperclassmen. In a few years, this will be the “new normal.” Like I’ve implored the students, have a little faith and you’ll see that this new way is not “something different from what we’re used to, and therefor awful.” and instead is “new, with many benefits to students.”