New Advisors

Welcome advisors, new and..."slightly more experienced!"

Basically everything that you will need to complete your school year can be found on the Advisor's disc for the BCASC. This is given to you/your schools by Michael Roland. For those of you that asking who that is, Mike Roland is the Activities Liaison for Broward County (among other things). This is your mentor, literal library of information regarding SGA/SC, and your leader.

Becoming Acquainted with Your Council
A good year with student government is built on a good foundation. Some councils use time over the summer break or the first two weeks prior to the first day of school to become acquainted with each other and/or plan important events. Try different exercises and icebreakers each day of your "retreat" to learn your delegates' names, background information, and - most importantly - duties. One way to seem closer with your council may be to keep track of everybody's birthdays. Just that little bit of enthusiasm and attention will make them more willing to be devoted to the council. If the advisor does not set a good example of leadership, then the delegates will not learn the techniques required to be a sound leader/delegate of the council.

While it is pleasant to be amiable with your delegates, you must also make them understand that they DO have jobs to get done. Let them understand what they need to get done and by when. Most often, things don't happen in councils simply because of time constraints and planning. Making sure your delegates are aware of time management will ensure that your council gets more done throughout the school year. Push them to get their jobs done on time and correctly. You can use reward methods; for instance, when a member completes a project report for the FASC Medallion Book , give him or her a piece of candy. Try to keep your delegates motivated toward a specific goal at all times.

Keep them having fun and enjoying their positions, but also be the harsh dictator of dates and deadlines. Teenagers are procrastinators at heart in some way, shape, or form. You want to maintain control of your council by pushing your delegates but rewarding them for their efforts. This will ensure not only a good outcome, but it will keep them from talking badly about you behind your back!

Remember to send out thank you cards to the people that help your council with various projects. Most of the time this is delegated to the secretary. Make sure you are always in full supply of thank you cards and letterheads or give your secretary an ample supply to store somewhere. If you host a conference and use members from other clubs to help you with ushering or preparations, make sure to send that club's sponsor a thank you. After all, student government is not a club nor is it an organization; it is the entity above all of those others within the school.

Never forget that student government is just that - STUDENT government. It is not teacher government or advisor government, so do not let your students leave everything on you. While you want to appeal as the nice person to everybody, you have to keep yourself out of the water at the same time. You are nothing more than the motivation for the students to keep them going. Govern them without ordering them. Become part of the student government experience without BECOMING student government. If your students are not following through with their position's requirements, find ways to motivate them to get it all done or move toward impeachment/removal from office.

Councils work as a whole. When one part or one office does not cooperate with the rest, then everybody suffers. Also, don't let one person carry the council either. Too often do councils fade out for years because one person becomes the "doer" for the council. The next thing you know the person graduates, and your council is in shambles because nobody else knows how to take his/her place.

All this said, everything you need relating to the formality of student government and contact information can be found on your Advisor's disc. It is your BIBLE, your TORAH, your QU'RAN (or whichever denomination to which you belong). Treasure it with your life as it will either become your best friend or your worst enemy (depending on how well you use it).

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