Blog 12

I really wish that we read this chapter sooner in the semester so that I could have gotten an overall better idea of what the Comprehensive School Counseling Program (CSCP) project would look like.  I think that example that Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) provide is a great one that shows all the different elements that go into a CSCP.  Not that the CSCP didn’t make sense before I read this chapter, but it would have been very helpful to see what all goes into a real program.  I thought that the Wakefield High School had a very good program and they just started the school in 2003.  To me, that is a great accomplishment.  And from what I can tell, it is not a small school, it’s a huge school.  But I guess when you have a good staff and good counselor and administrators that when a new school starts, it is easy to do.  From what I can tell looking at their CSCP there program is really good and very concise.

Looking at Rayle’s (2006) article, I found that it was very interesting and at the same time saddening.  In the beginning of the article, Rayle (2006) described that elementary school counselors had higher job satisfaction than school counselors at the high school level.  To me this is very hard to hear because I would like to be a high school counselor in the near future.  I wish this was not true, but I guess I cannot argue with data.  It looks like I will have to try really hard to make my job fun.  When reading more of the article, I got a better understanding of why mattering to others allows people to be happier in their job.  This to me makes complete sense.  I would think if you feel like you matter, you would feel better about yourself because people need you.  They want to be around you and that makes someone feel special.  When you matter to someone, you technically have something to live for and I think that is what everyone wants in their life.  People want to live for something and when people need you, that need is fulfilled.  This then will cause the stress level to go down and job satisfaction to go up.  I really hope that even though high school counselors have low job satisfaction that when I enter the field I will find that mattering aspect that I need in my life. 

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

Rayle, A. (2006). Do school counselors matter? Mattering as a moderator between job stress and job satisfaction. Professional School Counseling, 9, 206-215.