School Counselor Bulletin
Family Edition for the Week of May 11 - 15
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!
This week's bulletin topic is on making responsible decisions. We make thousands of decisions each and every day. Some of them are simple, like what are you going to wear or what would you prefer to eat. Other decisions may cause a little more discernment like, which friend are you going to play with or talk to. When pressed to make harder decisions, such as telling the truth even if you or someone you care about may get in trouble, or stepping in to stop someone who is being picked on or bullied cause people to dig deep. Hopefully this bulletin will help you as you forge through your day so that you can make the most responsible decisions possible.
You've Got This!
Your HUSD School Counselors
College and Career Corner - Attention 11th Graders
In preparation for your senior year, we encourage all 11th grade students to check out the Financial Literacy Google Slides Presentation. Be informed about money for college!
11th grade students will be given a Financial Literacy Google Slides Presentation shared via Google Classroom, and email. In this Google Slides Presentation, students can learn how to properly complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the California Dream Act Application, as appropriate. They will also learn about the following:
The types of documentation and personal information needed to fill out this application
An explanation of definitions used for each application
Eligibility requirements
Application timelines and submission deadlines
The importance of submitting applications early
Skill of the Week - Responsible Decision Making
The ability to make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms. The realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and a consideration of the well-being of oneself and others.
Elementary Mindfulness
It’s happening again. Your daughter or son is frustrated and stomping away down to her room and slams the door. You say calm down, but she yells back “I don’t know how to do that!!!” We tend to tell our kids to “calm down” without ever giving them explicit directions on how to deal with stress and anxiety. This week, we are going to take a look at the Mindful Strategy of using scripts to calm down. There are scripts you can read to your child to help them relax and calm down. Check out Inner Health Studios Free Relaxation Scripts for Children you can use with your child.
Still Like a Frog
Scripts for Kids
Mindfulness
Oh No, George!
The Empty Pot
Hey, Little Ant
Elem. Lesson On Responsible Decision Making
How to Make Good Decisions Using 7 Steps
Decision Making Printable Worksheets
1. Identify The Problem - What exactly is the problem? Why should this problem be solved? Is it important? Who does this problem affect? Is there a deadline for it to be solved?
2. Gather Relevant Information - What do I want? What do I need? What are my values?
3. Brainstorm Solutions - During this step, children begin listing possible solutions. Doing this allows them to think about the problem from different angles.
4. Evaluate The Consequences - As they go through this process, certain options will ‘feel’ better than others. Then they will prioritize them based on the solution they think is best.
5. Make A Choice - Once children thoroughly evaluate their different options, they are ready to make a choice. Their choice could also be a combination of the alternatives they explored.
6. Take Action - Children are now ready to take action and implement the decision they believe best solves the problem. Having a plan of how they are going to follow through with their decision is helpful. Children can determine if they need help or if they can to do it alone.
7. Evaluate The Outcome - Children can now consider the results of their decision and make a determination as to whether or not their decision solved the problem. If it did not solve the problem, they can opt to try one of the other options they brainstormed.
Decision Chain
Kid President
Decision Making
MS Lesson on Responsible Decision Making
Workbook Link for More Information on this Topic and Activities to Do
High School Lesson and Activity
The ability to solve problems effectively or to make good decisions is important for success. Decision-making is an everyday skill and most of the decisions we make daily are small (what to eat for breakfast or which YouTuber to follow), but sometimes there are big decisions that have big impacts (what college to go to or what career to pursue). Here is a simple decision-making model. It is easy as learning your ABC’s (or A, B, C, D, E).
A = Analyze -- the problem/situation. At this stage, you get to the bottom of things and define the root cause, the real problem. Analyze what you want as a final outcome. Some tools one might use to analyze: 1) Root Cause Analysis or 2) The 5 Whys.
B = Brainstorm -- solution options. Seek out advice from trusted people. Research online or trusted sources. List all options and the pros and cons of each.
C = Choose -- Consider each option carefully and choose one. Choose the best solution or narrow it down to two or three. Choose based on your own values, morals, talents and abilities and your willingness to do the solution.
D = Do It -- Implement the best solution. Put your choice into action. Do not hesitate, but act confidently on your decision.
E = Evaluate -- How did the results work out? Did the decision go the way you wanted? Learn from the results (in other words, would you do something different or do exactly the same thing?). Learn from the experience and apply it to other important decisions!
5 Whys Technique
One of the main reasons why 5 Whys is so popular as a root cause analysis technique is its simplicity.
Whenever an issue or a problem occurs, just ask “Why did the problem occur?” (at least) 5 times to the people working on it. That’s it. There are no fancy steps, no acronyms and there is no need for any memorization. 5 Whys works on the premise that “Every problem has a cause behind it but a superficial analysis will only depict symptoms. A persistent inquiry is required to find the real cause (the root cause) behind the issue so that lasting solutions can be taken and the problem doesn’t resurface.”
Basics of 5 Whys
For example – Let’s consider Jack is sick with nausea and goes to the doctor while expecting to get medication to treat nausea. However, nausea is just a ‘symptom’ of the problem and treating it does not mean we treat the real cause of nausea. Investigations by the doctor reveal that he has a stomach ache as well and further diagnosis confirms that Jack is ‘actually’ suffering from a stomach infection.
Understanding 5 Whys With Examples
In order to effectively use 5 Whys, one should have a ‘questioning outlook’ towards problems and not taking them at their face value.
Example 1: Let’s take an example from a manufacturing domain.
Problem statement: The conveyor belt on the main production line has stopped
1. Why has the conveyor belt stopped?
The main pulley responsible for rotating the belt is not functioning
2. Why is the main pulley not rotating?
Because it’s not getting enough power from the motor
3. Why is it not getting enough power from the motor?
Because the motor has stopped working
4. Why has the motor stopped working?
The windings of the motor had burned out
5. Why have the windings burned out?
The motor was loaded beyond its power capacity
Advantages of 5 Whys Technique
Encourages collaborative problem solving
Inculcates the feelings of openness within the team as the outlook of each and every member is considered
Simple, easy to follow process without requiring any statistical analysis or additional tools
Aids in reaching amicable consensus on areas with issues rather than fault finding or blaming individuals