Blog 10 Chapter 9

Our discussion in class about this chapter reminded me how different we all can think about the same situation.  Some people pick out small bits of information and beat that point into the ground while others look at the bigger picture and still others feel that it’s a specific person’s fault.  Not only was our group divided which was signaled by two people breaking off to have their own conversation but the class who is comprised of teachers and other professionals was even more divided about having a counselor in the lunch room, not to mention parenting styles of the student described in the vignette.

            This is another instance of how multiple people can see or read the same thing and depending on their on life experiences they can all feel completely differently about the situation.  One group member brought up specifically about not having children and having that aspect thrown in their face during interactions with parents, showing a lack of respect for the teacher, when the teacher is trying to help the student.  I believe I get more respect than other people in my field because I do have a child that I live with everyday, and I have clients that I spend 5 days a week with which is like having another child that I have to baby sit at school.  This was a hot topic in our group as well.

            I believe that this counselor needs to take a solution-focused approach to all communication regarding this tragic event.   Everyone connected within the school wants to point the finger at someone because they don’t want it pointed at them.  The community wants to know whose fault it is so they can make an arrest to set an example, showing that selling alcohol and or drugs to minors is not acceptable.  And the parents want a sense of closure without taking on additional blame because they have to live with the loss of their child for the rest of their lives, not just the school year.

The article written by Akos (2005) was very informative with some statistics and background information about education.  I think that middle school is a very difficult time in ones life because of the rapid and diverse development that occurs.  I can see the similarities to comparing it to the toddler stage in child development because of the risk taking and pushing of boundaries (Akos, 2005).  When I was in middle school there really wasn’t a lot of students doing drugs or having sex, I think that in the early 90’s kids were still innocent for the most part.  Now you can’t turn on the news without seeing someone “twerking” or doing some other type of lude or sexual behavior.  Social media has ruined our young people, and parents wanting to be “friends” with their children instead of the parent has snow balled the effect.

Reference

Akos, P. (2005). The unique nature of middle school counseling. Professional school counseling, 9(2), 95-103.

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