×

Kids in Crisis: Counselor says schools need to teach social skills

Photo by Michael Erb Jefferson Elementary School counselor Aaron Ellis says he would like to start a county-wide conversation on teaching social skills and conflict resolution to all elementary school students. Ellis, who has worked in Wood County Schools since 1993, said the need for these skills in younger students is greater than ever as traumatic childhood experiences are creating a generation of kids who don’t know how to work with one another.

PARKERSBURG — Every day, Jefferson Elementary Center counselor Aaron Ellis greets students the same way: “Good morning Earthlings.”

“I give them the ‘Earthling Test.’ Everyone on the planet has the same five basic needs: Food, water, oxygen, shelter and love,” Ellis said. “When they are coming down the hallway, I call them ‘Earthlings,’ because, in turn, they know that we’re all together. When a new student comes, we want them to know they’re not alone. You’re just like us.”

Ellis, who has worked for Wood County Schools and at Jefferson Elementary Center since 1993, said the issues students bring to school now in comparison to years past are more numerous and serious, and especially at the elementary level students need to be taught basic social skills and conflict resolution.

“If we don’t learn how to problem solve and work together as human beings, your life will never get better,” he said. “I teach that we attack problems, not people.”

Jefferson serves nearly 400 students, and in December Ellis gave a questionnaire to all students in 2nd-5th grades. The questionnaire focused on traumatic home events, such as someone being arrested, witnessing an act of violence, or drug/alcohol related issues. The results were kept anonymous except for a student’s grade level. Ellis said in nearly all grade levels, many students responded yes to multiple questions, and in some cases 80 percent or more of the students reported they’d experienced specific traumas.

Photo by Michael Erb A newspaper clipping from the mid 1990s shows Jefferson Elementary Center counselor Aaron Ellis in the early days of his career and talks about the hurdles counselors must overcome in helping students. Ellis said he keeps the clipping in his classroom as a reminder of his pledge to help students every day.

“I found out that our children see a lot of things,” he said. “We have children who come here who are emotionally wounded.”

Ellis said it also illustrates the need for counselors to teach students how to get along, how to recognize and deal with their own emotions as well as the emotions of others, and how to resolve disputes without violence or name calling.

“I feel we need to be able to teach those skills on a regular basis,” he said. “Here at Jefferson I am able to because I have a classroom.”

Ellis is at Jefferson four days a week and once a week at Fairplains, but said many counselors still spread their time between multiple schools.

“In 1993, I had seven different schools. I ran around and saw individual students and put Band-Aids on things,” he said. “I realized the importance of addressing the whole population. They all need skills on how to get along.”

Ellis said other Wood County Schools counselors work with students in a variety of ways and many do teach students social skills and problem solving, but there currently is no county-wide curriculum for these kinds of lessons at the elementary level.

“There is no one curriculum that covers everything,” said Cathy Grewe, coordinator of assessment and student services for Wood County Schools.

At the secondary level, health classes often include lessons on conflict resolution and communication, but while counselors at the elementary level may work with individual students or classrooms, there isn’t one set program for the district, she said.

Ellis said that is an issue which needs addressed.

“I think we need to develop a curriculum. All the problems they have in high school start here,” he said. “We need to have a curriculum just like math and reading. We have to teach and re-teach social skills.”

Ellis said the current social and political climate in the world makes it even more difficult for students to develop listening and negotiating skills, as adults online and on television often lack those skills themselves.

“I teach (students) listening skills. There’s four parts of your body you use to listen: You use your eyes. You use your ears. You use your brain. But then most importantly you use your heart, because you’ve got to want to listen,” he said. “That is the most important thing about listening. You’ve got to want to listen.”

Ellis’s efforts already have seen some success. Christie Willis, director of curriculum and instruction for Wood County Schools, said she used Ellis’ student survey results to show the level of need in Wood County as part of a federal grant request.

The three-year Comprehensive School Improvement Grant, which was awarded to Wood County Schools earlier this month, will allow the district to hire a counselor for Jefferson and Franklin Elementary Center, as well as two home/school liaisons who will concentrate on attendance issues at those schools.

This year the school system will receive $313,710.78 for professional development and to fund the additional positions, and expects to receive at least 70 percent of that amount each year for the following two years, Willis said.

Ellis said any support schools can provide for a student’s emotional and mental needs will help increase their chances of academic success, but a more concentrated effort might be needed.

“I try to help the kids understand, we’re going to have problems. Conflict is going to occur,” Ellis said. “You need social skills. You can resolve any conflict if you work at it.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today