There is a wierd phenomenon going on in the town I work in:
Every mother of a high school student awakes each morning with the same anxiety provoked thought:
MUST immediately call my son or daughter’s guidance counselor!
regarding…..

1. academic problems – Fire alarm! Little Johnny isn’t getting an A in Chemistry (which inevitably leads to #4 below)
2. college admissions/ college choice
3. suspicion of adolescent mental illness as evident by:

a. conversations they overheard
b. IM messages they accidently saw
c. emails they accidently read
d. IM conversations the parents had when they secretly signed on as their kid
e. search results when they googled their son’s name
f. English paper their son/daugher wrote
g. something they saw on Oprah
h. change in the direction their son/daughter brushes their teeth in the morning

4. problems with teachers
5. problems with students
6. problems with other parents
7. marital problems (you’d be shocked how often I get these calls)
7. problems with their washer/dryer
8. request for a referral for a:
a. therapist (johnny is nothing like our other son!)
b. psychiatrist
c. tutor
d. SAT prep course
e. summer college courses
f. driving instructor
e. electrician