Academic, Career, and Personal/Social

I appreciated the way that Dollarhide & Saginak (2012) started Chapter 4 by looking at the three areas of ASCA and having us reflect on our experience within that area.  As a counselor, I believe the academic portion may be what I struggle with implementing.  Currently I work for the MU Scholars Program at Millersville and I am acting as the student's outreach counselor.  The program is split up into three different components; Academic, Interpersonal, and Residential.  However the main focus is on the academic side because we want the students to be successful in their classes.  I find it very difficult to talk with the students about their academics and would hope that I may find better resources to work with the students.  One section of the book that I could relate to though was the part about the Multiple Intelligences.  I truly believe that all students learn differently and have formed different intelligences in their lives.  "This perspective on intelligence is particularly useful for understanding why a student learns, how a student learns, as well as how a student manifests that learning has taken place" (Dollarhide & Saginak, p. 52, 2012).  To me it seems as if this should be an important part of academics and developing a student's learning style.  Perhaps it would even be useful for the students I am working with now.  I find it interesting though that I wasn't introduced to these different intelligences until I was in high school even though I had developed my own way of learning years and years before.

When reflecting on the career component, I thought back to Career Development last fall and how that one class was entirely focused on one aspect of ASCA.  During that class, I had a lot of opportunities to reflect on my personal career journey and how counselors/school had impacted that.  I believe that the personal experiences I had in the past will help me to put a more positive focus on career/interest building within the school.  I think the most important thing I have learned about everyone's career journey is that it is always changing and growing.  When I was younger, I felt that there would be an endpoint where I would have my chosen career and be satisfied.  It is clear to me now that even if you settle within a career you are still developing within that field.  It is very important that students are allowed the opportunity to develop their interests and learn about possible options for themselves.

As the book mentions, the personal/social area of ASCA is the part i feel most comfortable with implementing.  This is what counseling is all about and what I enjoy doing.  Growing up, I remember so many different instances where I struggled with who I was, who I wanted to be and where I was going.  Having a positive school counselor can benefit a child in so many ways.  School is really the place where children learn about themselves, how to make friends and interact with others,  and what they value.  "Together, hope, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem can help most students who are confronting barriers to learning"  (Dollarhide & Saginak, p.56, 2012).  The more I am learning about the ASCA model, the easier it is for me to understand how the three different areas connect and can build on one another.  Strengthening a student's personal and social skills can benefit them within the classroom and ultimately help them later in life.

Dollarhide, C. & Saginak, K. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs: K-12 delivery systems in action (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.