The vignette in the beginning of Dollarhide and Saginak’s (2012) chapter on emerging issues for schools and students was both realistic and terrifying. Working in a school I have heard numerous teachers talk about their “crazy” parents. I have even had the experience of dealing with some of them myself in the classroom where I work. In fact, most of our parents call on a weekly basis to yell at us about something. What is unfortunate though is that everyone seems to just shrug or laugh it off; which is really not solving the problem. The teacher in the vignette mentions that the mother may have had a bad experience when she was in school. I honestly think this is the case sometimes. School is so different now and parents are having a hard time trying to keep up and relate to the current issues their children may be facing in school. This whole scenario would be a great starting off point for school counselor’s to use their consultation skills. Teachers and other school staff but not know how to deal with this; hence just laughing it off. A school counselor could use consultation to focus on all three parties involved; teacher, parent, and child. As a collaborative team; they might be able to solve some of the concerns that the parent is having. I feel that it is also important to try and consider outside sources of stress for the parents. Often times there is something else happening at home that is causing stress and hurt for parents and it just spills over into the school environment. Many times teachers and staff only know a small amount of information about the home life. However, a school counselor might be privy to more information, and could address several school and home issues through meeting with the student and parent. We need to stop viewing parents as “crazy” and start collaborating with them; because when it comes down to it; helping their child succeed in school should be our main focus.
I thought the vignette was relatable to Amatea and Clark’s (2005) article on the conceptions of school counselors roles. The vignette would have been a prime time for that school counselor to step in with consultation and also to help define her role within the school. Especially since Amatea and Clark (2005) explain that “School counselors are also being asked to rethink their roles. Many writers have encouraged school counselors to see themselves as educational leaders, student advocates, and social change agents” (p. 17). The counselor in the vignette could have showed her role as the collaborative case consultant. This article was interesting because it seems that many principals, administrators, and key stakeholders want to see counselors in roles of leadership, advocates, and change agents. We often discuss in class the resistance we might face from teachers and administrators. However, after reading this article; it doesn’t always seem that is the case. So what is the missing link? Do counselors need to put themselves out there more and really define their roles within the school? Or do administrators need to stop relying on counselors to complete tasks that are out of the scope of counseling? Either way, I feel that counselors and administrators need to collaborate and define roles that ultimately help all students and bring about systemic change.
Amatea, E. S., & Clark, M. A. (2005). Changing schools, changing counselors: A qualitative study on school administrators' conception of the school counselor role. Professional School Counseling, 9(1), 16-27.
Dollarhide, C. T., & Saginak, K. A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs. (2nd ed.). New York: Pearson, Inc.
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