Chapter 13

The sad reality of this chapters vignette is that this woman, whatever experience she has had, has left her uncertain and angry at the education system. I think it is important for Erin to not only reach out to Samuel but attempt to extend an olive branch to his mother. That is part of our job, informing individuals that may misunderstand what our position is. I'm remembering a dramatization of a situation much like this in Brief, where Matt Shirvington did an excellent job of not only defusing the situation but also gently guiding the parent to a clearer understanding of what his job was. His ability to calmly read, and intervene in this situation not only allowed the parent to feel heard and supported, but allowed Matt to also connect with the student more fully. I kept wishing in the chapter 13 vignette that the teacher would have utilized the counselors offer a little more. I understand that not every parent/student will be reachable, or even desire to have continued contact with the school but just leaving the situation as “I'm not sure what I can do to help her” doesn't seem to be sufficient either. That student may (and probably will be) very easily be impacted by moms experience with school and could potentially have a less than positive experience because of it.


I thought the rest of chapter 13 did an excellent job of addressing crisis counseling and family assistance, mental health needs of students, poverty and its impact, educational reforms, spirituality, use of technology, and gender (just to name a few). After reading this chapter I would want to know more about Samuel's mothers experience, where and how they live (SES) what moms job looks like as well as how Samuel is doing. Is he passing his class, is he struggling...the fact that his mother was yelling about Samuel's progress that he may be in need of more services than just what is available for regular students. I would want to know a lot more about the situation so I would know how to proceed with Samuel to make sure he had a very different experience than his mother seems to have had. I was really glad to see that this chapter also covered poverty as an emerging issue since this is something that I feel, will be a pretty consistent issue. Without the government making a rapid rebound, this will continue to be something that will not only affect our student population but all those within the school. Chapters 12 and 13, I felt, were really informational and maybe it is the time of the semester that I am reading it, but I feel like it is tying up all of the lose ends!


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