Sunday, November 4, 2012

Blog #9 Chapter 11


                In reading the case study this brings up one of my largest concerns with entering school counseling.  I have entered the program and I want to find a job in this field but I am a little hesitant at the moment to switch immediately because these jobs are not state mandated.  Is this going to be a job that administrator’s feel as though is not as important as others to keep?  How do you prove that what a counselor does is a necessity?  I think it is crucial is this time period to explain everything you do and have substantial data to back up every single thing that is done. 

                The role of a school counselor has changed tremendously over the last few years.  The counselors that are up to date with the theories and innovations in counseling and in the schools are making a good name for what the job looks like and why they are important.  These are the counselors that are essential to keeping the school counselor positions, unlike the counselors that are not keeping up with the changes in school counseling and effective practices.  I agree that is critical that counselors need to be a leader in their job.  They must be informed about innovations in schools, plan effectively, aware of student issues, and constantly be informed on about innovations in counseling as well as school counseling.  Once you have those tools as a counselor I would need to make sure that I empowered others around me to do their best and to be accessible for all others to come to me with a concern.  One aspect of leadership that I think I will have difficulty with is needing to be a realist.  I think I have become good at making my point clear to others when there is a need for my special education students so I feel as though I will be fine with doing that in the future as a counselor.  I have heard from a few counselors that it is crucial to advocate in the community and volunteer your time so that others will donate services back to your school to help benefit the students.  If I as a counselor follow these guidelines I believe I will make a good leader.  In being a teacher and working in a district already I feel as though I am able to see some of these qualities in others and have seen some qualities that I want to make sure that I do not start to take on. 

                I have all of these wonderful dreams and aspirations to do once I am a counselor but I hope I don’t overwhelm myself the first year.  Any change takes time and sometimes others are not always willing to accept change immediately so I will need to play the balancing act game to find out what I feel as though should be analyzed first and what other actions or lesson plans for the students in my building should possibly be put on hold temporarily. 

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

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