Dear Editor:
I have worked as a teacher for 33 years in the public school system in British Columbia, the past 12 of which have been as a secondary counsellor. The most important part of our work is supporting the social-emotional needs of our students.
Only 12 years ago counsellors were able to offer classroom instruction and do valuable preventative work. Today, meeting students' social-emotional needs has become all but impossible, given the current levels of staffing for teacher-counsellors. Only 12 years ago, I never dreamed the job would be what it has now become.
School counselling now involves triage, making quick decisions about who needs our attention most urgently. Some of the issues we encounter include challenges with learning differences, attention deficit disorder, Internet addiction, poverty, abuse, family breakup, violence, gangs, and drug use and abuse. On a daily basis we deal with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks. Sadly, suicidality is not an uncommon occurrence.
A healthy, productive, educated society is incumbent upon a strong, financially supported public education system. Students' academic and social/emotional needs are not being met at the level that they should be. These are the future citizens of B.C. upon whose educational outcomes we all will rely. We should all be concerned.
Kelly Bosello, Burnaby
