Blog # 2 Chapter 2

In class we discussed how important it is to educate others on what our real role as a school counselor is. I never realized how many people do not fully understand the school counselors true job roles. It is an extremely integral part to educate others at the beginning of a new year when starting your new job. I have really thought about this several times this week while at work when multiple teachers wanted our school counselor to do more than her job or to reveal confidential information a student had shared with her. I believe in part it is because teachers view them as another teacher not as a separate entity and resource that works with the students from another angle. School counselors, teachers and all other school personnel need to work hand in hand and fully understand each person’s role to help the children succeed. This is stated perfectly by Dollarhide “If it takes a village to raise a child, then we are all accountable for the education our young people receive in our schools.” (p. 21) Educating an individual is not easy and it takes many people to work collaboratively together. One person can ruin the self esteem or education of an individual and destroy what many teachers have worked together to help create. Over the last ten years of teaching I have seen some individuals that are breaking down children instead of helping build them up by their words and actions. It is heartbreaking and depressing but true. Adults in schools need to listen to the cries for help of all of the children. No matter how small we may think something is it may be monumental to someone else, and no one comment should be ignored or taken lightly. A school counselor should follow up with all concerning comments that are made. If there is one piece of a person’s puzzle missing then they will never become fully complete emotionally or educationally. School counselors need to continually be advocates for children who may not have help from adults at home or are being singled out by teachers or any other one person that they interact with in their life. This is important for the holistic development of students. As a counselor it is important to reflect on your dealings with children and make sure that what you are doing is working effectively. If it is not working then one would need to analyze why it is failing and see what can be changed to benefit the students. As a school counselor, I hope that I do not fall into a rut of working on a daily basis and forget to go back and analyze my effectiveness of what I do on a regular basis with children. Dollarhide, C. & Saginak, K. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs: K-12 delivery systems in action (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.