By Abby Margolis Newman August 8, 2008
An excerpt from Scholastic Parents.
"When you walk into Claudia Trinklein-Engman's office at Tamalpais Valley School in Mill Valley, California, you'll see a poster prominently displayed on her wall. It says in big letters, "It's Your Choice! When you have a minor conflict..." and proceeds to list several options for children to resolve conflicts, such as "Apologize," "Use Humor," "Compromise," "Get Advice," and "Walk Away." Trinklein-Engman, who has been a K-5 school counselor for over 16 years, says that much of the focus for counselors at the primary school level is on resolving social conflicts. This is part of her job's preemptive nature — to teach kids positive social skills before they reach the middle school age, when social conflicts can become more frequent and more serious.
When I or many parents of my generation think about school counselors, we remember mostly the "guidance counselors" who sat at their desks in middle school and dealt primarily with "problem students." Many things have changed since we were kids, not the least of which is that the term "guidance counselor" is passé. School counselors are present in primary and middle schools throughout the country and their jobs have become much more proactive.