Lunch and Learn series continues in the guidance deparment
February 24, 2016
One of the priority lists of what change students want to see at the high school. The Lunch and Learn sessions help students address faculty with what they want to see changed around the high school regarding race and racism. Leon Yang / Sagamore Staff
Head Guidance Counselor Darby Neff-Verre began the Wednesday, Feb. 24 Lunch and Learn by proposing on focusing on feeling comfortable and creating a safe place for opinions to be expressed. The main point of the Guidance department’s Lunch and Learn session was to hear feedback from students on their experiences with guidance counselors and social workers. The main grievance of the meeting was the feeling that guidance counselors don’t do much, and that they needed to reach out more to students instead of vice versa.
There were around 25 people who attended the meeting, including nine students, guidance counselors, social workers, deans and other members of faculty as well. The meeting focused on ways in which issues of equity can and must be brought in front of guidance counselors even though they are not always present in the school.
There was a discussion on the responsibility placed on students themselves to solve issues of equality when a student brought up the fact that it wasn’t their “job,” it was the faculty’s responsibility to solve issues.
A different student disagreed, saying that if it were only the faculties job to solve these problems, it would be as if these school interactions were only by the teachers, when in reality there is stereotyping and segregation between friend groups.
“It is the institution’s job to fix the institution, but we as students are part of that institution,” the student said.
Another grievance that pertained to this issue was the fact that students don’t understand the school bureaucracy, so it is hard for students to come up with solutions.
The meeting ended with Neff-Veere reminding students that they should go to their guidance counselors, because they don’t know when there is a problem unless there is communication.
The meeting went over time when junior Maya Morris recommended that guidance counselors should try harder to connect with their students and to earn their trust and respect instead of just expecting it. Next week lunch and learn will feature the history and special education departments.