Blog 11 – Chapter 3 and 14

Blog 11 – Chapter 3 and 14

The scenario at the beginning of chapter three made me think Jason really jumped to conclusions with Kim’s situation. It seemed as though he ruined an opportunity to really help a student outside of his regimented scheduling meeting.  I think for some personalities listening without reacting are something that must be learned, practiced and refined.

I found it interesting that the authors said that this chapter could be a course within itself because I often feel like it should be, to really feel secure with all of the laws, regulations and situation we are faced with. I could connect well to the five primary values in counseling and to the sixth one which was added especially, context and systems awareness. If more individuals made this a priority perhaps human interactions would be much smoother.

My order: non-maleficence, justice, autonomy, context, fidelity, beneficence

I appreciated the clarity the authors brought to the specified rights of the client. The right to information, choose and the right to privacy. The explanations and examples brought with them a new level of understanding to me. The right to choose in relation to autonomy and being “free from the values of the counselor” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, pg. 34) really stood out to me. Also, the four-step process is a good skeleton for new counselors to form their own method for the decision making process, as the authors mention several times it is ultimately our decision how we go about things from an ethical standpoint. There are some concepts that have very clear cut ethical lines and others that are more to the counselor’s discretion and subjectivity.

The scenario in chapter 14 caused me to transition through many thoughts and feelings. At first I was feeling that Emily seemed as though she was not very motivated, then it seemed that she had many odds against her in her profession and it would be very challenging, I then felt bad for her when I read about the two students talking about her, but that was followed by feeling like she should be doing more to be visible to students so they do not think those things of her. I do understand that overwhelming feeling of too many kids, not enough support, and too much work, however I think there is always a way to send the message that you are there for the students no matter what. I think when we are over worked as educators we need to try even harder to put procedures in place to stay on top of things. I think one of the worst messages we can send to things is that you are going to do something and not follow through.

Personal health is one of the most important factors to keep as a priority in this profession. I strongly believe that keeping my personal health higher on my scale of priorities has made me a better teacher.  Balance is a key component in doing this as well, work hard play hard! Reading about keeping your center was good for me, having the big picture in mind helps with the “daily grind.” I also anticipate that doing my best and then letting go will be a hard task for me as a counselor, as it was when I first became a teacher as well.

I could not agree more that having a strong self esteem helps a great deal with managing stress, when I first started in education I took a lot of feedback from others as well as my own observations of others about establishing my own ideals and priorities as an educator. When I felt more established in my beliefs, planning and teaching became easier.

Professional health stems from self confidence and ones willingness to be a lifelong learner. The sooner we can develop our own identity as educators and open ourselves to the constructive criticism of others the better off we are as professionals.

Dollarhide, C. & Saginak, K. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs: K-12 delivery

systems in action (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.