In looking at my original statement of disposition in comparison with the responses of the school counselor, I would have to say that I am greatly encouraged. The counselor indicated that half of her time is spent doing the work of a counselor with students to include individual, group, and family counseling. The desire that drew me to counseling originally was to be of help to children and their families. My original goal statement reflected a strong desire to help young people reach higher than they may have thought possible. The opportunity for direct contact with students as reported by this working counselor confirms for me the correctness of my choice to pursue school counseling as a specialization.
I was surprised at the diversity of tasks this counselor endorsed as part of her responsibilities. Her role as a support person for other faculty was a surprise. I have anticipated a role with students but had not considered the opportunity to train or process with other school personnel.
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"School Counselor Reflection".
I discussed my international experiences and my interest in utilizing this aspect of my life experience in my future work. I noted this counselor’s work with students in testing for English proficiency. Testing has not been a key interest for me but I realize that doing this type of task places the counselor in touch with a group of students that might not otherwise be participating in counseling services either at school or outside of school. I was interested to hear about the way in which this counselor has been able to be involved in offering a service to a culturally diverse group of students.
I have some questions about the nature of the school counselor’s job as I compare the questions I was originally asked with the responses of the counselor. First, there does not seem as much emphasis on technology as I might have expected based on the Week 1 questions. I am aware that students are expected to be able to use computers to do coursework, to take tests, and to keep in communication with each other and their instructors. I am certain that the school counselor documents activities in some way and many records are now kept electronically. I also wonder if there are career education or guidance instruments that are done on the computer.
School are different and I am wondering how representative this counselor’s experience is of the job of school counseling in other districts or schools. As someone who has worked in the school setting, I am aware that each school community is unique. This counselor clearly loves her job and is having a chance to actually function as a counselor. I hope that my jobs in the field will provide the same satisfaction.