An education beyond school walls

I have been a Student Council adviser for all 15 years of my teaching career. In my darkest moments, my contact with Student Council members has been the only thing that kept me in the teaching profession. Along with my students, one organization has most profoundly assisted me as an adviser, Michigan Association of Student Council/Honor Societies. Through this wonderful organization, I have met many dedicated adults and students, all striving to make their schools better places. The conferences offered by MASC/MAHS gave my students the necessary training to be better organizers, better leaders. Given that I teach full time, I never have time to train my kids they way these conferences do.

For the first few years of my career, it seems that we always had money to send students to all conferences, including the expensive State Conference in Traverse City. Hamtramck High School's Student Council was even climbing into the well-recognized status. We hosted conferences, we presented at conferences, we won awards. Then, the money dried up and I became a mom and my time dried up. Needless to say, both Student Council and I have suffered from some serious doldrums lately.

This year has been different. I have a group of amazing seniors, in particular my Executive Board. I love them like they are my own daughters. They are driven, creative, and smart young ladies. Earlier in the year, they devised a plan to raise money for both us and a charity. They made buttons and called them "A-wear-ness" buttons. I won't go into all the details, but it was a rip roaring success.

These wonderful young women decided to present this idea at the MASC/MAHS Regional Connect Conference we attended today. Presentations from the eight regional conferences would be chosen to present at the state conference. Unsurprising to me, my girls were invited to present at States. The other students who went (a grand total of ten) also want to go because they caught that Leadership Beat. Not counting transportation, I now need to insure that we raise $2500 by March 25th.

Okay friends, both virtual and real - I need your help. I am tired of not taking my kids on these trips. I am tired of missed opportunities. I want a little cushion (who doesn't, right). If you feel so inclined, please help us hit this monetary goal. Yes, we plan on collecting as many cans as we can between now and then. We plan on hitting Hamtramck businesses. But you can help. Five dollars, ten dollars, any amount you can afford would be greatly appreciated.

Leave a comment here, and we can figure out how your donation can get to us. Or leave me a message at FB. My real identity is not stealthily hidden. The kids and I would greatly appreciate it.

Student Council - Cosmos style

I left my first teaching job after only two years. I arrived at my new school after a friend of mine helped me get an interview. She subsequently left me after a year. Anyway, my new school already had a Student Council Adviser. She was, however, a very busy young woman. She was, if I recall correctly, also the cheerleading coach, a softball coach, a class sponsor, and one of the sponsors for the engineering team. I offered to help her with Student Council and slowly but surely, by the end of the year, I was the sole sponsor.

I had made the vow at my previous school to fight hard for my students, and that's just what I did. I learned very quickly that my new school hadn't had a Homecoming pep rally or a non-Homecoming dance in several years. It seems that the biggest things this Student Council accomplished every year were the Homecoming Spirit Days and the parade - no small feat, I will tell you! Apathy on everyone's part had to be defeated or at least addressed head on. Unfortunately, the many of the seniors I inherited for my first full year as the only adviser weren't really interested in working for me. That first president, however, was great. I remember when she worked all day on an award that we had no chance of winning, but she wanted to prove that we could complete the task. She called me at home around 11 at night to tell me she was done and I rushed to her house to take her and the award package to the 24-hour post office. I paid, with my own money to overnight that binder. This is the precise moment where I can pinpoint how my life would be changed by my involvement with Student Council.

My third year at the school and my second year as THE adviser witnessed some amazing accomplishments. We hosted a conference for the Michigan Association of Student Councils, brought in an amazing speaker (Stu!), had dances, and our first Homecoming pep rally. The next year, we finally won that award and continued sponsoring more and more events. The my fifth year at the school would be the most eventful. We hosted a conference on the other side of the state (Grand Rapids area), won that award again, and sponsored our first Blood Drive. My students nominated me for the Adviser of the Year - which I won for the county. Each year, I found that my presidents got stronger and more capable of acting without me holding their hands. That is exactly what I hoped would happen. I regularly stayed at school until 6, getting things ready for activities. Over the years, I have spent hundreds of my own dollars for whatever we have needed.

We have hit many rough patches. The first leave I took and then this most recent one seemed to cause a bit of a vacuum in leadership, at least among the general members. Students have become a little less dedicated to putting in time and effort. I probably lost a little focus when I became a mother. I want that edge back. Student Council is what has kept me teaching. I love the camaraderie with the kids and sense of pride we all feel when we have pulled off a big task.

I just met with my new officers this morning and I am so excited to start on the new year. We might not hit the lofty highs of past years, but we will accomplish far more than any of them believe.

Student Council - Part 1

I started teaching in the fall of 1995. That is also when I first became a Student Council Adviser. I got tricked into the job. I was the new teacher (and the only white woman in the building) and the kids swore up and down that they ran themselves. At my first school, the position was unpaid, I was teaching five completely different classes, and I did not want an extracurricular activity interfering with my single social life. I agreed, knowing that I was getting suckered. That first school had very few student run activities. Adults held onto control of most activities, including Homecoming. I think this gave them the false sense that they were in charge and the the chaos that existed was an illusion. Of course, the daily smell of weed in the hall was not an illusion.

As a Student Council, we did very little. We did manage to sponsor the first Valentine's Dance in years. For me, the best part was the fact that I became acquainted with an organization called Michigan Association of Student Council (MASC). This organization gave students lots of room to create and be leaders. I was impressed as were my students. Everytime we attended an MASC conference, my students would ask "why can't we do that?" That might include over night lock-ins, more dances, or goofy spirit days. I didn't have an answer; I was too new.

I left that school after only two years. I had trained a new president and then left her. I felt tremendously guilty, but I knew that I had to move on. I did vow to myself that if I had a chance to be the Student Council Adviser at my new school, I would take it and not allow stodgy old ideas to block my students true leadership potential. Little did I know how much my life would change at the next (and current school).

More in a day or two.