The Report Card

<Door opens; student walks in>

Hey, thanks for meeting up with me!

<Door close>

Feel free to take a seat in either of those chairs. Take off your bags, if you'd like. Get comfortable. I'll try to keep this brief, but I know I can get a bit...ramble-y.

<Sitting down, backpack onto next chair>

Sorry to pull you from Study Hall like that. I promise you're not in trouble or anything. Mr. Grayson is a great guy, but he also has that sort of "batman intimidation" problem.

{Pause}

I'm fairly confident we have not formally met one-on-one before. You can call me Dr. Burke, if you'd like. And you are...

{Pause; listener answer}

Great! Is that the name you'd like me to use for you?

{Pause; listener says "Yes"}

Excellent.

So, I'm sure you might have figured it out from the sign on the door, or maybe you know about me from other people talking, but I'm one of West Point's school counselors.

It's not exactly the most glamorous job, I'll admit. Most people think we're just a lazy group of people who get rowdy or struggling kids in trouble. It's certainly a hard negative stereotype to combat.

But, ultimately, I think that I'm...how do you guys say it, "built different"? Am I saying that right? 

Close enough? I'll take it. I'm not hip with my lingo anymore. It's mostly just whatever nonsense my 6-year-old spouts from school, now. The thing I hear these days is called a Verity, I think?

I rambled again. Sorry!

Our goal here is to make sure that students are doing the best they can with the tools they are given.

That really manifests in a number of ways, you know. Sometimes, it means changing what classrooms or classes people are in. Sometimes, it's about ensuring everybody has the right accessibility aids. Sometimes...

...it's about checking in about mental health.

<Deep inhale, then slow release>

We've noticed a particularly steep drop in your class grades as of this year. A's to A-'s dropping to C's and C-'s...or even Ds. That's pretty significant! Especially over the span of a single semester.

I want to really emphasize that I'm not upset with you. I'm not trying to frighten you, especially with stuff you probably already know. 

I just want to touch base. Make sure everything is doing okay, or if there's anything we can do to help out.

Usually, when we're in this situation it means one of two things. Either the classes you've opted to take are way out of your depth and maybe need re-evaluated...or something else is going on. 

Obviously, you don't need to share more than you're comfortable sharing. I promise that nothing will leave this room.

{Pause, nothing}

I'll let you think about it a bit more.

[Sigh]

High school is hard, I get it. It's a really stressful time in everyone's life. Course work alone is a challenge, but having to manage it with clubs and volunteering and changing friend groups...it's a lot! Plus, the world outside of here is its own separate beast.

This...probably isn't anything new to hear.

I think a lot of people don't actually mean that seriously. Y'know, they'll actually say it, but then when it gets put to the test...well, their empathy starts to seem a bit lacking.

But...at least here? That's not how we really operate. Stuff happens. Life happens.

One of the philosophies we run with here is that if you need more time to work on something due to stressful live events...you get it.

It doesn't always, but a lot of the world tends to work that day too. It's better to get it done eventually rather than not at all, y'know?

Even if there's not one specific thing wrong, a lot of little things can add up, too. That's just how life rolls. We can get caught up in the little stressors of our day-to-day without really seeing the big picture.

The big picture here, perhaps, is that grades still matter. How you're doing in classes still matter. We don't want a situation where nobody checks in on you, or you end up struggling this semester, and it leaves a more permanent record for the future. That is to say...we still have plenty of time to work on this.

But, as open of a hand as I can hold out to you, I can only work with what I know. I can't read minds, as much as I'd like to be able to. If you don't want to say anything, that is your call...but it makes it much harder for me to help you.

{Pause}

It doesn't have to be me, either, if you don't want to speak with me. We have two other counselors, or the principal, or even the nurse. I realize it's hard to trust people you might not be familiar with.

{Pause, this isn't really going anywhere}

I suppose...

Well, I'll leave you be with this thought. Right now, at your point in life, you have a lot of cushion behind you. You might not even be aware of just how much cushion there even is. As you grow up...these safety nets and paddings will eventually thin out, or go away entirely. My point is...it's okay to use them. It's not a sign of weakness or failure to need a little support! There's no shame in trying to get assistance when the resources are there.

I won't keep you for the entirety of study hall. I'm sure you have a lot of homework to be working on, or Angry Birds to be secretly playing under the table.

...You kiddos still play Angry Birds, right?

Anyway! You know where my office is. I'm here until about 2:00 PM almost every day. If you ever decide later down the line that you'd like to have a chat with me, my door is wide open as long as the lights are on and there's no notice on the door.

Same goes for my colleagues. Dr. Prisky is usually here until 4, if you need somebody else.

We want the best for you, just like anybody else here. It's my job to ensure it.

Have a good rest of your day. Tell Mr. Grayson that I said hello!

<Rummaging/Ruffling of backpack. Get up from table/chair and walk away>

END.