Less than two weeks away, finals start on Tuesday, December 14. To help students and parents in preparing for finals, I interviewed our three counselors – Mrs. Craton, Ms. Goetz, and Mrs. Hoyt – about what our students are struggling with (academically and personally), what resources they have available to them, and how to access these resources.
Bre Goetz
10th – 12th Grade Students with Last Names K to V.
This is Ms. Goetz’s seventh year of counseling at Templeton High School. She attended Cal Poly and went on to get her master’s in counseling. Prior to THS, she worked at Cal Poly for three years as an academic advisor for the College of Liberal Arts. Before that, she was an intervention counselor at a high school in the L.A. area.
Starting our interview, Ms. Goetz identified a different struggle among her students: “I’ve seen more students struggling with resiliency. I’ve had a lot more students this year ask to switch to Templeton Independent Study High School. I knew that would happen, but it’s definitely happened.” When I asked her if this lack of resiliency is definitely related to the pandemic, she replied, “I think it partially is. But I do think that it’s a well-known issue among teens today that resiliency and grit are really lacking in students, more so now than ever before..” Instead, Ms. Goetz sees this struggle as more related to social media. She believes that “social media plays into students’ insecurities instantly and constantly.” She explained that social media does this by giving students instant insight into how they compare to their peers, and it’s important to remember that social media is not the truth. Further, she continued, social media allows students to be cruel without being cruel to somebody’s face.
Scholastic problems have been a consequence of students’ personal struggles; Ms. Goetz has observed a large number of students struggling with anxiety. This anxiety affects students in different ways – she’s seen it impact student attendance, focus, work ethic, and academic integrity. Going into finals, Ms. Goetz advised that students can cultivate resilience and lessen their anxiety by practicing a growth mindset. She said that “[the idea of a growth mindset] is so basic that it’s hard, I think, for students to take it seriously, but it’s so powerful and it’s so true. How we think of setbacks affects our mental health… That’s what resiliency is, is how you think about a setback, and how you react to a setback.” Thus, developing a growth mindset can give students resilience and improve their overall mental health.
Ms. Goetz also stressed, when preparing for finals, to ask questions in class. She said, “asking questions during class or after class is such a dying art,” and asking questions is how she succeeded in high school and college. Additionally, she said students can study by looking over old tests, completing their study guides, studying in groups, quizzing themselves, asking someone else to quiz them, and really paying attention during class. But with all this, she wants students to remember that, “When you go to college or into life, grades don’t really matter anymore. It’s more about will you stick with something, and will you work hard to figure it out if you don’t get it. It’s that grit.”
Alexxa Craton
All 9th Grade Students and 10th – 12th Grade Students with Last Names W to Z.
Mrs. Craton has been a counselor at THS since 2017. She graduated from Azusa Pacific University, and has a PPS credential and master’s degree in educational counseling. She’s worked as a school counselor in both L.A. and in Santa Cruz.
At the beginning of my interview with Mrs. Craton, I asked her what challenges she’s seen students struggle with this year. She emphasized that anxiety has been a problem in a lot of her students, explaining that “going from a year of isolation, and COVID, and Zoom school, to now all of a sudden everything all at once – anxiety has really manifested itself.” These problems can have a negative impact on students’ academic performances. She continued that it’s difficult for students to focus on school when they’re distracted with personal struggles. Further, with the pandemic, she has “absolutely” seen the quantity of personal problems increase: “Yes – anxiety, depression, isolation, social issues – it’s very much increased.”
With that in mind, she advised students preparing for finals to try to relax as much as possible and “start preparing early; If you are just reviewing your notes ten minutes a day, two weeks before, the day before the finals it won’t feel so big.” Students can plan ahead and use “in-between time,” like the time during lunch, to get their work done if they know they’re going to be very busy.
But of course, even with planning ahead and studying in increments, finals season remains a challenging time. If students are struggling academically, Mrs. Craton said that some resources available to them are Deaser’s Den, Zoom or in-person Cal Poly tutors, and teacher office or lunch hours. She said, “if they are struggling, we have a lot of resources around, they just have to ask for it and advocate for themselves.”
In terms of social/emotional issues, there are also a plethora of resources available to students. Mrs. Craton explained, “we have our community counselors who are here three times a week, and we’re also available. We have an intern, as well – Katie Creighton, who students see. We have another intern who does groups on Fridays, and so it just depends on what students need. If none of those options work, we have a list of outside referrals whom we can connect them with.” Expanding on the community counselors – a resource I was not aware of – Mrs. Craton said that two counselors from County Behavioral Health come in Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays to see a list of students. If students want to see a community counselor, they usually meet with them during a tutorial. These counselors are completely free for students, and if a student is interested in seeing one, they should talk to their counselor. Students can access any of these social/emotional resources by first talking to their counselor.
To conclude the interview, Mrs. Craton gave some parting advice: “Going into finals season, try to relax as much as possible. Prepare early. Your mental health is really important, so prioritize self-care and what makes you happy. Try not to stress about the little things.”
Jessica Hoyt
10th – 12th Grade Students with Last Names A to J.
Mrs. Hoyt is new to the counseling team this year. She has a background in teaching and coaching, and recently got her master’s in counseling. She interned at THS when Mrs. Craton was on leave two years ago, and was thrilled to come back full time when Mrs. Jeter retired.
Coming back after hybrid learning, Mrs. Hoyt agreed with Mrs. Craton that she’s seen a lot more anxiety in her students. She’s talked with many students coming in “feeling anxious and not knowing why.” She continued that students are struggling socially, and as a result she’s seen an increase in bullying and cyberbullying.
During the pandemic, Mrs. Hoyt explained, students communicated primarily through digital applications. Most people communicated this way, she said, “but we’re continuing now, and we’re seeing it as an issue, in terms of people saying things they wouldn’t say in person. This is stressing students out.” She concluded that the transition from being entirely at-home to full in-person learning has been hard on students, and it’s manifesting itself in anxiety and social issues. As a result, students’ grades are suffering. Mrs. Hoyt continued that students are “not used to communicating with people face-to face, so they’re not getting the help they need. They’ll either just not do their work or get lower grades.”
However, students still have time to work on their study habits. In preparing for finals, Mrs. Hoyt agreed with Ms. Goetz that communication with teachers is vital. When students reach out to their teachers, “it not only lets the teacher know that they care about their studies, but it also can help students understand the curriculum better.” Additionally, Mrs. Hoyt said, as long as students ask questions, focus in and out of class, and take advantage of the resources teachers give them, they should be able to manage their finals. She recommended that students create schedules and to-do lists to stay on track with their work.
For students struggling academically, she advises they go to their teachers first, “because their teachers know the curriculum and their courses best.” Moreover, Mrs. Hoyt stressed that students take care of their mental health. To do this, she said, “[make] sure you’re focusing on you and improving yourself.” She also said it’s good for students to “prioritize self-care, whether that’s going for a walk, listening to music, spending time with a trusted individual in your life.”
Mrs. Hoyt concluded the interview with some parting words: “Counselors are here for students who are struggling academically, socially, and emotionally. We love to see students in our offices and help troubleshoot any issues that might be happening, so utilize us, come on in, we’re happy to help.”
Thank you so much to our amazing counselors for agreeing to this interview! Students, take it from them: leading into finals, stay organized, ask questions, take care of yourself, and remember, there are always resources available if you need help.
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