Blog # 3

                This blog is going to be a little different than my others. While I really enjoyed gaining more insight into the role of a counselor on a small scale as well as school wide, my mind was hard to keep focused on the chapter and the reading. The case study had a large part in my thoughts as I read about Ty, his life situation and his fears and what seemed to be the ambition and life slipping out of him and at such a young age.

                Exactly a year ago today, my friend from high school lost her best friend, husband, and her two children lost an amazing father. The police officer that was shot, was an Iraq war veteran and served as a police officer. On the day his life was ended by another person’s bad decision, my friend as well as her young children’s world were shattered, never to be the same. As I sit here in tears writing this blog, I realize that there could be so many more kids out there with stories like Ty’s and my friend’s. It was not my intent to have this blog be sensitive and teary but it just shows you how important a support system from school, the community, church and peers is when dealing with life events, small or big.

                “A comprehensive school counseling program must be holistic, systemic, balanced, proactive, infused in academic curriculum and reflective” (Dollarhide& Sagnik, 2012, p51). Never have I seen a clearer picture than today as to why these guidelines are put into place. Every part of a person’s life is connected in one way or another. When we are talking with a student or anyone for that matter, it is not just the person that is involved in the conversation, it is everyone and everything that surrounds that individual, good or bad.

                Another part of the chapter that stuck out for me was the reflective part of a school counselor’s job and programs that are implemented. Did we make a change and how do we know we did? Could more have been done and can there be improvement in  the way a program is working? The question is, are we able as individuals to question ourselves and show are faults to make things better? Self-knowledge and where we are  in life and where we want to go are important in becoming a school counselor. If we have not worked on ourselves, how can we then help others? I am thankful to have been given the chance to experience the program here at Millersville and meet the individuals and faculty I have, because my life has changed and I have gained so much more self-knowledge in theses short two years than I could have learned in a lifetime.

                So I will end with this, I apologize because this is not what I intended my blog to be about but I was moved to write this and I hope it has made an impact!

 

 

Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs (2nd Ed.). New York:   Pearson, Inc.