Severely handicapped class arrives - The Lowell

CovtMtor Lontta DcAndrtb m«U with c. flndcnt lo retain •
A closer look at the
Counseling Department
By Chrfc Crt*ra
Few people recognize the
numerous demands and corr.|)lcxitics
the job of student eoumetor emails.
Officially, a studcitf counselor u
supposed 10 ". . .>Jn ac*vice to
students, assist inef.t with their programs,
and help incm prepare .or
their future*." However, these three
functions represent only a simll fact:
of hit re^poTjrbitiiics
Assistant Principal ucorgc Hsu
head* tnc i i.wcl1 Counseling Derailment
•vivch includes eight cour.ck n
.•nd James Thorn** end Elba Safgaoo,
dextsof students. By namr. the eight
=ourtelon are Walter Bariuhic.
Robert Jew. Jtv*n Canlti, Cathryn
Bravh Stella MkHrii ui. Hoc Wong.
Jan»«s G»jway. and Lorella
DcAndrrif.
Htu » in charge of nuking »urc
that the dcpartmcnl ruru smoothly.
He ensures that all deadlines are met
and that there ate food relations between
counselors, teachers a^d
sCdcntv
Deans Thomas and Salgn'o are
prrtarily in charge of discipline and
attendance (or the lack thereof) of the
students.
In dealing with ninth and tenth
g;*dcn, coutuelors mainly help the
underclassmen adapt to the school:
the confuting modular syrtcm, the
fierce cor*nxtt*ion. and the abundance
of homework
"Mwl of c-jr job U academic advising."
s*ated Catrfli, "but there »
also a great deal ofpciVKUl coutuc 1 -
ing involved." They heJp student
dCJf. 1''. it no •.null ti\L ciHuitlrr
ing that because ol l l r«pn,itK«i-U.
tlir counselor-to-MUICM ratio i* ar*proumatcly
one to 630.
Above and beyond their re/uIJi
rcspomitHlities. each counselor h-A a
number of extra dutic » inal he mutt
perform, hot example, Caclli is in
charge of all information dealing *ith
the University of California system
and Stanford University (all visitor
"A counselor's responsibilities
vary with each
grade. "
According to Catclli. **A
tof'» responsibilities vary witli
tach pvie. i"
For example, counselors help
icniort primarily with their preparation
for college. They assist seniors
whh their college applications and
make sure they have met all of their
graduation requircrocnti. They also
provrfc advice on many specific iu*jeca.
such as whether or not to retake
the SAT or Achievement Exams.
Counselors mainly help jeniors
prepare for their SAT and Achievement
Bums. They tlso encourage
jtaion to enroll in many honor* and
Khancul placement course* for extra
college credit.
DEEM SUM
any time of day
YANK SING
427 Battery Strtot
San Francisco. CA fttt n
Rea«rvations 362-1640
C«l*ring 362-4799
meetings, applications, and other annouocenients).
Wong is in charge of
recording the SAT and Achievement
scores for every student. Some of the
counsf-'YS teac^ regular ckucv. for
example, Jow and Bra»h are regular
tcachcis tn the Social Science and
English Dcputmetti, respectively.
Each counselor has at least one of
these kinds of extra responsibilities.
Commenting on the job of student
counseling. Principal Alan FibtOi
slated. "Counselors have so largt a
wort load that it is difficult fa* thcx
to do everything that ctnroel.ws
should do. I'm amucd at the job our
counselor* do here at Lowell "
THE BEAT
GOES ON
San Fmncisco's
Wldtst VariOf of
Sim, ani 7osm
7*/ lawcll. DmnlKr 6. I9S1. rap IS
.IN DEPTH
Students express opinions
about their counselors
By Denbc Hearm ud
Lisa Marie West
The clock continue* ticking away.
Another minute goes by. Ouu'de the
snu.1 office the student i t-JS,: intoa-
Ucmly in the chair. Hi tips hii foM
on the floor and glances t icifJcnUy at
his watch.
"Come oo," he sayi to himself.
"I'll be Ute for class." He tries to
see through the small oilke window.
Suddenly the door opens, and
another student steps OH and walk*
•way.
Quickly, the waking itudenf jumps
up Trent his chair and ttcads for the
oflice doorway. "Mrs " he
begins.
"Sony. I can't see you right now.
Conic back and see me JICT," crntcs
a curt response, as :he student's
counselor leaves the rimm asd hurtic%
down the hall.
V'ptet. the stvdent Milks off. nwttcrirj
something abujt the inconiidcra*cncss
of Sis counselor.
Sound familiar? V.any students
qutstioncd hy sfffref oners for The
/j*W/ told of fmstrart tg eipciicnccs
in aitcmptiRg lt> nvet with their
counselors.
When atked what th.*y felt were the
rcjy«u> behind th< kind of trcatmetit
they lia%c experienced from their
counselor*, inou uulcnts were not
critical of the craracl xs thenueUet.
but were rrnct about the lack of time
counselors tu\e fos|crid with their.
Most counselors have 'xtn
duiies in addition to being available
to meet with stujettts. Certain
coumelon serve as liaisons with
various colleges and universities
which takes time from student contacts.
Others art on committee*
which meet during school lime, ntd
some teach classes.
"Ihe ha»c a very heavy load, and
the wort 1 we do. though not difficult.
Is c&tremely limc-cotHurning," explained
couruclor Stella Mkhaelian.
The counselors have their totctior.
for solvteg the pnbkm of being
imtbte to adequately service UI of
their nunieJecs: aVJ mure d
to ihc faculty.
Noii. Don't talk to me; talk to your
"They don't reaUy help you aO (bat
much because the advice they give is
so vague. I guess it's hard for them
because they have so •tuny students
to cnurtel. If we were to get more
counselors, each counseloi would
have fewer students to work with so
he rnr,ld do • lot more for tth iadividual
kftd would be able to get to
know ite students oo a more personal
basis," conuneoted senior * y*^»
Wong.
Some students expressed sympathy
fa the fact thrt axmsdors have more
work than they can handle satisfac-
"/ know that if I ever have
a problem, she'll be there to
help me ..."
Before Proposition !3 pasvd
several yean back, the Lowell
counMlmg itfff consisted of 12
memberfc. Alter Prop. 13 cut school
dirtrict fufxJ.np. the number of
counselor* was reduced to seven.
Tnc citncnt formula cstabtblied tr>
the San Francuco Unified SchoA
Distrct calls for 630 srutknu per
counselor. One counselor callcJ this
ratio. "Outrageous;"
Incrc£ting the number of
courwlcr* wnild vne to reduce the
"My counselor is never
there when I need her . . .
t.iVf ihc nuik.it J: xi
t.uny L*mclhtc\ »*tio pu fut help or
«d%K'c arc turned -tuay and tutr tr.
schedule appnintnxnu at inconw.nicnt
UITJCSJ. Si>me can't find iK-ir
cnuruclon in their ol TICCA.
On-- sophomore complained,
"E\erytime I go loiee rm courtclor,
she tenb me away ;pd tetU n*. to see
someone else. She always tells me
*hc U too busy to work wiih me."
"My coumclor iirvcr worn to be
there when I necc her." remarked
another wden:.
Most U*«I1 owM/.')n feel as
frustraied as the rudely Co and attribute
such stuU-.-nl complaints to
their buiy schedule.
"Students sSoulif rcalue that there
are only so many •tours in a day and
that counselor* cr. i*t pouibly be ll vre
every second tt*y come in to the
counseling offtx." comrocn'ed
counselor Boe Wong.
number of icgitfry claws each
counselor i\ mftm\ible for and
wouM fA\e them n»rc time to spend
im \tuucnl requests fot awuancc.
'We could ten^ thr ilidcnb much
better if \»c had a i.nailer load. I
unuid cerum!y Itlc to spend a tittle
more time with the students *ho arr
havin,: 4 difficult lime adjusting to
wbool. like Ihe niruh graders, and
many of us would like to spend more
time with students having personal
problems, but we have to spend a lot
of ti*nc on paperwork." slated
counselor Waller Baruooc.
One of the major complaint* expressed
by smdettis is that their
counselors are not able to do enough
for them.
Senior David Medina recalled, "I
went it? we my counselor onrc
because I was failing a clan and
needed advice. The advice I got was
IM *cry helpful. She told me. 'Why
arc you asking me? It's not my pr>
LOUTA T. PINEDA,
D.M.D.
32462 Alnrado Bltd.
Union City. CA 94587
487-1644
Oeo&c h* desgn te» Wbr~^i * Men
torily. Many commented that despite
incrcatt.il counseling resporaSHliues,
their counselors do make sn effort to
really help tirztn.
Some ftudents revealed positive
re^pemes toward their coucaelors ot
a perMTial bash. "1 vivt rar
ctHinselor two or three times a week
just to ttJk with her ... I really