Chapter 1 - Post #1

Dollarhide and Saginak’s (2012) first chapter begins with a vignette about a former teacher who has become interested in the school counseling profession, but demonstrates a lack of knowledge of what the school counseling role actually entails, and her reasons for choosing the profession are somewhat selfish in nature.  It is the last challenge question following the vignette that I would like to spend some time reflecting on: What are my reasons for coming to this profession? 

Counseling as a profession has been of interest to me for quite some time.  Looking back to my high school years, I became aware that I was a person who people felt comfortable talking to.  In my youth group, I often sought out the new kids or those who liked to stay in the outskirts and tried to make them feel comfortable and included.  Skipping ahead several years, I found myself working with at-risk youth in a small, alternative education setting.  These students had some rough edges, but deep down they were longing for adult attention, and I often felt privileged when they would open up and share their stories with me.   I also appreciated the opportunities I had to be that positive influence, that listening ear, that voice of wisdom that they were searching for.  I realized (not for the first time) even more how much I enjoyed working with small groups of students or one-on-one and developing relationships and having meaningful conversations with them.  I especially enjoyed having conversations with students about their hopes and dreams for their lives, and I encouraged them to take the practical steps that they needed to take in the short-term in order to make their long-term goals reality rather than just dreams.  That’s when I became interested in pursuing a career in school counseling.

Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) list several of what they consider to be the most notable personal qualities of a school counselor.  When addressing  the qualities of creativity and imagination, Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) say, “We must have the creativity to respond to their (the students’) various needs in an appropriate, ethical, and effective manner and the ability to imagine and design new approaches to old problems” (p. 12).  While reading this I felt a confirmation that creativity and imagination are part of my work in alternative education every day.  As a staff, we are constantly responding to student needs and finding ways to re-invent the education wheel (which heavily involves flexibility) in order to make it both more accessible and exciting to students who need a lot of encouragement to even show up at school.  I also see passion and commitment to diversity and social justice play out in my own life through my current role.  Some of the things that my students experience upset me a lot.  I’ve heard before that you can determine what you’re passionate about by what makes you angry.  I’ve found that I get the most angry when I hear about injustices involving children.  Overall, I feel that the 3 years I’ve spent as an instructional aide have helped me to both discover and develop the personal qualities that Dollarhide and Saginak suggest a school counselor possess, and I’m excited for what the future holds.

References

Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K. A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs: K-12 delivery systems in action. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.