Chapter 6 - Due Oct 2

In reading this week’s additional article it made me think back to one of my counselor interviews.  The question that seems to come up over and over again. – What does a counselor do?  I feel as though many school district employees as well as parents are not fully aware of an effective counselor’s roles and responsibilities.  It is crucial for the school counselor to provide information to the staff they work with as well as send information home to the parents.  Many parents do not want their child participating in activities or groups if they do not fully understand what it entails.  This is the time for new counselors to get out there and make the public understand all of the opportunities that are out there for children to participate in.  As a counselor I would not be able to do everything in my first year but I think educating teachers and as well as guardians will need to happen on a yearly basis.  Regulations are constantly changing and the National Model is being updated so other educators need to be aware just like the counselor.  The framework is very clear of what I need to follow once I become a counselor but the general public is not all on that same page and educating them will allow me to provide more specialized services to the students. 
 

I am hoping that when I graduate from the program and hopefully find a job that I will be able to implement the National Model to the level that I envision.  I know I will have a lot of stumbling blocks but I hope that I will have a supportive set of building administrators that share the same love for children that I do.  It will be a much harder uphill road to travel if I have to educate and constantly explain why I am doing certain parts of my job as a counselor. 

 

While reading the article it reiterated how important it is to be flexible as well as adaptable to the unique needs of both the school and the students.  If I plan on running certain groups during my first year I need to remember that there may not be a great need for that certain group and I may need to create new groups based on the students’ needs at the time. 

Also, in conducting my interviews over the past two weeks I have found that more counselors then what I originally thought are using the foundation of the ASCA National Model.  That was a very pleasant surprise to see.  The interviews were a great way to be able to look at different programs and be able to talk one on one to other practicing counselors.  Talking to them gave me a very different impression then only seeing what they do. 

Dollarhide, C. & Saginak, K. (2012). Comprehensive School Counseling Programs: K-12 Delivery Systems in Action (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.    

Schwallie-Giddis, P., ter Maat, M., & Pak, M.  (2003, Feb). Initiating Leadership by Introducing and Implementing the ASCA National Model.  Professional School Counseling, 6(3), 170-174.