Torch - Spring 2015

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| SPRING 2015 • TORCH 19
A t a recent whole school faculty meeting, Kevin Walsh, an Upper School
Science and Physics teacher, concluded his presentation to the teachers
by sharing an image that illustrated how he had come to understand the
individual students who make up his class. It was a simple illustration with a
powerful meaning. He had created a class made up of a series of stick drawings
of girls. On each stick drawing, a number of water glasses were drawn; the
amount of water in the glasses varied within and between the individual students.
The glasses represented the many different needs of the individual.
Pictorially, it conveyed the message that
everyone has a unique set of needs. Some
of these needs are filled while others
are not. If we, as teachers, are able to
name the needs of our students then we
validate their worth and water is added
to an empty glass. That student now feels
honoured and known.
In an ideal world, classrooms would be
occupied by students who are fully open,
attentive and receptive to the thinking and
learning possible within the space and time
of a class. Through positive, constructive
and supportive interactions with the teacher
and with their peers, through differentiated
strategies for all learning profiles and with
an accessible curriculum, all students
would thrive in every class. All glasses
would be full.
This is the ideal; however, the reality is
quite different. Classrooms are complex
spaces. In each class, there are individual
students who are prevented from being
their ideal self because they may be facing
physical, cognitive, mental, social and/or
emotional barriers or bottlenecks.
Supporting a student to knock down
a barrier or to navigate a bottleneck
increases her capability as a student in
a classroom.
Looking to professions beyond those
common in schools, there is language
that is useful in framing the way a school
can find its place in supporting the many
needs of students beyond developmental
growth and curriculum content. Although
the specific terminology may be associated
with a particular field of support (like
mental health) or a specific diagnosis
(like a concussion), the language and
its meaning has broader applications.
Through adopting and adapting certain
language and its meaning, Havergal
College is able to take advantage of the
learning in other fields, to delineate its
role relative to other community health
and support providers and to provide a
structure of support for the many complex
needs of students.
A wrap-around team describes the
collaboration of school faculty and
staff members who provide support
to students with known challenges—
physical, cognitive, mental, social and/or
emotional—they might face. Common in
the field of mental health, a wrap-around
team supports an individualized plan for
a child or youth and their family to achieve
a positive outcome. At the centre of the
team is one school staff member who is
responsible for coordinating the work of
the support group. Depending upon the
grade, House and residential status (Day
or Boarding), this person is either an
Assistant Head (Junior or Middle School)
or a Guidance Counsellor (Senior School).
By Lois Rowe, Vice Principal
The
Language of
Support