Post 2

In chapter 2, Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) provide an opportunity for a future school counselor to see his or her impact on an entire school and its community. Viewing the list of professional obligations that individuals have in a school setting can be quite overwhelming. As an elementary school teacher myself, I truly never even think about my obligations on a daily basis. I know that I teach because I want to serve kids, but being a teacher entails so much more. Professionals in education wear many hats and often times do way more than what is needed. These professionals help build an effective school. On page 21, I liked how Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) asked, “How do we know that a school is effective?” Although this may seem as an easy question to answer, unless you have worked in a school, it can be hard to tell. You can’t “grade” a school’s effectiveness using one tool. For instance, using PSSA scores to tell if a school is proficient (effective) is not enough. If a school that you are working for is consistently deemed as ineffective based off a test, it can be quite aggravating! I feel that an important obligation a school counselor has is to keep the school’s climate positive. The counselor needs to be visible not only to students, but to his or her colleagues! Moreover, they must take a leadership role not simply in the school, but also in the community. As Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) mention, a school system is not simply one school or one district, it is the entire community. Whiston and Sexton (1998) focused their study on outcome research by examining several other studies that were conducted on school counselors and their practices. I was surprised to see that there were not more studies on effective or relevant practices that school counselors can perform within their school. Whiston and Sexton (1998) noted on page 424 that the many of the assigned duties of school counselors may be ineffective. If more research were to be conducted on the effects of certain duties or programs initiated by the school counselor, then it would be more likely that counselors wouldn’t be spread thin. This need for more research studies can be seen by the many inconclusive results. McGannon, Carey, and Dimmit (2005) wrote of the responsibilities of school counselors under NCLB. I can tie in a personal connection to this article because it referenced a few programs that I include in my teaching curriculum. Second Step and PeaceBuilders are used extensively during the first quarter of our school year to help promote positive interactions between one another. Also, I did not realize that counselors have yearly standards that they must meet. Standards are a huge deal for teachers. They need to be in our plans. They need to be posted in our classrooms. Our students need to know what standards they are learning. I thought standards were simply for teachers to ensure we are teaching what needs to be taught. Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs (2nd Ed.). New York: Pearson, Inc. McGannon, W., Carey, J., & Dimmit, C. (2005). The current status of school counseling outcome research. Center for School Counseling Outcome Research, 2. Whiston, S. C., & Sexton, T. L. (1998). A review of school counseling outcome research: Implications for practice. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 76(4), 412-426. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.1998.tb02700.x.