Blog 8 - Nakia Eckert

I’m not going to lie, this chapter on collaboration and consultation has me feeling a bit overwhelmed. I can’t say at this point that I fully understand and grasp the concept of how to put this into practice in a real-life setting. To focus on collaboration for a moment, the statement “Nowhere is the idea that it takes a village to raise a child more prominent than in today’s schools…collaboration between groups, such as schools, universities, communities, and professions, appears to have a positive influence on student academic achievement and school experiences” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 163). Although this seems like a concept we learned in kindergarten (play nice together in the sandbox), putting this into practice is much less realistic. We work in such siloed environments and can easily fall into the habit of “that’s your job; I’m not qualified to do that, etc.” This attitude defeats the concept of collaboration, which espouses the idea that we should combine our strengths and talents to provide the best possible school experience for our students.

I also really liked the section on collaborative culturally competent schools, although I found this section to be surprisingly short. Level II to me is the most important part of this model and “focuses on empowering families through presentations and forums that include such topics as curriculum, school practices, assessment and placement, parent-teacher relations, and educational administration” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 168). Oftentimes school officials dismiss parents for not caring or not knowing the process, when in fact they have not been properly educated regarding the services offered in schools. Empowering families, especially first generation families, can be a catalyst for positive change in communities.

Consultation is a concept that is still very foreign to me and something I feel underprepared for in my future role as a School Counselor. I was surprised to read that counseling and consultation are not the same thing, and I think this will be hard to not blur those lines, especially when someone approaches us in the moment and we are unprepared. Another trap we will need to avoid is that of becoming and advice giver. “Because the advice giver assumes the role of an expert, there is no collegial relationship or collaboration. In addition, there is not assumption of respect or confidentiality” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 171). Overall, as much as this concept of consulting is overwhelming it is also exciting and new. As future School Counselors, we will be able to carve out a unique niche for ourselves and develop our own consulting styles and philosophies within our schools.

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