Blog 3

After reading both the chapter and the article for this week it has further proven to me that this is the career I had always dreamed of pursuing. Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) give a great outline as to what a comprehensive school counseling program should look like. I appreciated this so much as CSCP has been brought up in class, but I never fully understood what the concept fully meant. Now that I was able to read a chapter devoted to defining a CSCP, I feel much more comfortable as to how I should handle the assignments for this class. Reading the assigned article by Walsh, Barrett, and DePaul (2007)  for this week helped me to further appreciate and be thankful for the ASCA national model. What interested me the most was that the research was conducted on newly hired elementary school counselors. I could not help but think, "this could potentially be something I encounter if I find employment *fingers crossed*."

One of the most important statements I found while reading the chapter was, "The overall development of young people depends on so many factors: biological, social, familial, and educational, to name a few." (Dollarhide and Saginak, 2012). Just reading that one sentence got me totally focused as to what I should be doing as I gain an education to become a school counselor. I know that as I went through middle school and high school I was definitely faced with many obstacles regarding self-identity. I felt that I was different from the student body that surrounded me so I always attempted to "fly under the radar." It would have been so helpful to have a school counselor that was knowledgeable about the concept of diversity and knew how best to communicate with students that did not fit the typical "norm" and become their advocate.  Just having a school counselor, as mentioned in the readings, that would greet me as I walked in to begin my day of school would have been incredibly beneficial to me. To know that someone within my school cared about how I was doing, rather than pushing for good test scores on the PSSA's, would have made me feel so much more comfortable going to school

Throughout both readings I realized that there is something I definitely need to work on if this is the career I wish to pursue. I need to get familiarized with this community if I intend to stay here as a school counselor. I honestly, aside from commuting for class, rarely get out and explore the community and what it has to offer for me as well as students. Over the summer, I volunteered as a mentor at a local Boys and Girls club, but I need to be doing more. I know that this has been emphasized in my previous coursework that it is to my benefit to network, and I need to take this seriously. How am I to help students within a school when I'm unfamiliar with resources that would be able to help me help a student? It is without a doubt that the time has arrived that I know more about this community.

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

Walsh, M.E., Barrett, J. G., & DePaul, J. (2007). Day-to-day activities of school counselors: Alignment with new directions in the field and the ASCA National Model. Professional School Counseling, 10(4), 370-378..