Coyote Counselling

Intro to the Circle

collinsd — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 01:55:51 +0000

The two of us sat at the fire pit. I could feel myself getting anxious. We had been sitting for about ten minutes. The students, playing on the grass, finished lunch about thirty minutes ago. Certainly, they had enough free time.

Brain Research

collinsd — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 02:20:27 +0000

As an administrator I have been to workshops about effective evaluation and how to identify effective teachers. We have discussed leadership traits. We have set goals. We have developed and refined policy. Through this all we remind ourselves that we are doing to this because it is the student that matters. I began to wonder when we are going to learn more about our students. What are we missing? What can research tell us about our "clients"? Brain research is not a new field but it seems to be slow in coming to education. My first dive into several articles is summarized here.

90 Percent of my Time

collinsd — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:11:17 +0000

The saying “we spend 90% of our time on 10% of our students” came up again.

And my response was different this time.

Every other time I’ve been at a workshop, or a session, or a meeting and this statement came up I felt anger growing. It gave my frustration a place to hang. What have I been doing wasting so much time on so few? There certainly must be something be wrong if things are not more equal. Why should the minority demand such a large amount of my time and effort.

Winter dog tracks

collinsd — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 23:26:42 +0000

A quiet day after three days of Christmas celebration is magical in its own way. I opened a new book to read. enjoyed a coffee. Accepted an invitation to go on a walk with my brother.

Student Time is Sacred Time

collinsd — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 01:31:39 +0000

Stephen Covey and his 7 Habits resonated with me the first time I read it. They became part of my life and I continue to strive to meet them every week. First Things First was also very motivating. The analogy of rocks in a jar is very powerful. Yet, there are times I wish I could grab Mr. Covey by the ear, drag him into my school so that he can see where his theory of time management breaks down.

Little Successes

collinsd — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 03:32:01 +0000

One reason I felt I would have difficulty working in elementary is seeing the same students all day, every day. The years I was a traditional classroom high school teacher I valued the variety of classes and students.

Partially Aware

collinsd — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:48:36 +0000

: Red Fox from Crestock Royalty Free Photos

A student came in to see if he was still welcome to the school. Immediately I switch into skeptic mode. A small voice reminds me to be open and keep a sense of hope. I try to balance the two emotions and invite him into an office.

Is Coyote my spirit guide?

collinsd — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:51:10 +0000

: Coyote from Crestock Creative Images

We have lots of coyotes around. Every other night I can here them calling and yipping. According to some of the neighbors, there is a group of dens in the hills and pastures between us and the highway two miles away. The coyotes will come up to our fence line. Theyre surely checking out the horses and perhaps hoping to catch one of the cats away from the shed. In fresh snow I like to follow the tracks they leave as they chase mice.

“Stop yellin’ at me and I’ll stop rolling my eyes”

collinsd — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:34:08 +0000

The main idea that attracted me to Coyote Mentoring is that teaching and counseling works best at the edge. A person grows when they are approached in his comfort zone and then pushed. It is a subtle and powerful thing that I’ve observed and experienced many times.

Working Through Frustration

collinsd — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:15:50 +0000

The transition from East to South in the learning cycle is where I see many students get stuck. In between these two is Southeast. This is the place where the person is trying to find a way to move from the feeling of initiative to getting the work done. I’ve looked for strategies to assist this transition. Part of the problem is trying to understand why the person is stuck.

During a presentation at a recent Outreach Conference I heard Cameron Buchanan speak.