Blog 13

The vignette at the beginning of this chapter seems realistic, we as professionals will have to deal with angry parents.  I don’t believe that the blame should fall on teachers or school counselors because I believe in them and they we are all doing the right thing for the students.  However, there is always that story you heard about a bad teacher or school counselor so I believe that it is important to validate the parents’ feelings and let them know that you are hearing them and what they are saying or asking for.   I think the counselor did the right thing trying to continue the conversation in a more private area and making a note to talk to the student the next day. 

            These interactions are telling about what kind of parents you could potentially deal with.  Maybe this mother had a bad experience at the previous school, she had a long day at work, she doesn’t have enough money to buy groceries and then here comes Samuel with another bad note from the teacher.  Depending on the cultural background of this family it may be taken into consideration that yelling in public is acceptable and or discussing matters of this nature are okay in front of others.

            I think another follow up measure for the school counselor could be that she contact the parent and have a meeting over the phone or invite the parent back into the school to meet with the school counselor.  If this meeting goes well I would want to incorporate the teacher as well, to get everyone on board and working collaboratively. 

            The article was a great follow up to Chapter 13 in Dollarhide and Saginak.  The article by Amatea (2005) was a qualitative study that focused on school counselors and the understanding of their role in the school.   The article talked not only about the school counselors’ role but also the teachers and they’re teaching style along with the principal and working collaboratively with staff, students’ and parents.    The article went on to discuss the possible role options school counselors might have based off of administrators beliefs (Amatea, 2005). 

            This article seemed to be asking other individuals in the school setting what their opinion of a school counselor is and what they could or should be doing.  After shadowing multiple school counselors I don’t believe that they need to put on any more hats without having someone else to hand some that are already being worn too.  A school counselor in the elementary and middle school buildings are typically one person who also is responsible for some administrative duties like an assistant principal since they’re typically isn’t one in these two buildings.  I personally don’t think that adding to what a school counselor is already responsible for is the right way to delegate tasks. 

Reference

Amatea, E. S., & Clark, M. (2005). Changing schools, changing counselors: A qualitative study of school administrators' conceptions 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.