5 Goals for Me as a Counselor

The five goals that I would like to accomplish by the time class is over are:

1.       To become more proficient at using technology in counseling.

2.       To become more confident in my ability as a counselor.

3.       To not talk as much during my counseling sessions.

4.       To become a stronger advocate for students in need (help find more resources for students and families).

5.       To gather more counseling strategies and tools for counseling.

I am working hard toward all of these goals and sometimes I feel like my head is about to explode.  I had felt comfortable utilizing technology until now and I have been about to drive myself nuts lately. I invested in a digital camera recorder to help ensure that I get my videos and tapings for this class (praying that it works now…).   Every time that I sit down with a child to begin a session I get sweaty palms and become nervous, but with experience this feeling of anxiety is lessening more and more. I feel more confident when I watch my supervisor counselor and think “oh, I knew to use that strategy or technique”, it helps me feel validated somewhat.  Sometimes I think I talk too much, especially in guidance lessons. I am aware of this and I have become conscious of how much I talk and I try to make my comments more powerful but less ‘talky’. Just as a new teacher yearns for more effective teaching strategies, I have a desire for more counseling techniques that I can use.  I research and watch with open eyes of what other counselors and classmates do. I am like a sponge when someone shares something that has been useful to them.   I do believe that I can come closer to achieving my goals by the end of the semester.  In order for me to come closer to achieving my goals I need feedback from my instructor and peers. I listen with ears wide open to praises and to criticisms. I want to be good at what I do and I too need guidance on how to reach my full potential as a counselor. Thank you to all who in anyway offer insight and feedback to me, I do hear you and try to make improvements on what I am doing!

Why My School Needs a Counselor

These are twenty reason that my school needs a counselor. This is not an exclusive list but a list of necessity!
20. to help others face challenges
19. to teach us acceptable behavior
18. help deal with high stakes testing
17. communicate with parents concerning their student
16. academic skill support
15. career planning
14. buliding peer relationships
13.substance abuse awareness
12. diversity/multicultural awareness
11. problem solving skills
10. goal setting
9. crisis management
8. at-risk studnet identification
7. improvements and notes involving school climate
6. data sharing
5. behavior management plans
4. teaching kids how to stay safe at school and home
3. educating how to understand one's self
2. just a safe ear to hear our hopes, fears, dreams, beliefs, and frustrations
1. we all have MELTDOWNS and need someone to scoop us back up and help us face reality!

Great Idea for Home Connection with parents/Guardians

The following link will direct you a webpage from Clark County schools.

http://www.ccsd.net/departments/guidance-counseling/parents-make-a-difference-monthly-newsletter

 This webpage contains information about Guidance for students and involves parents as well. There are tabs for academic development, college and career readiness, personal social development, and tips for parents.  I really like how the design of this website is directed for parents and guardians and is easy to navigate through. This website is also friendly for Spanish speaking families. Perhaps if more schools would go above and beyond to extend to families, there would be a closer bond between the school and home front that would benefit the needs of students more. As i grow and emerge as a more proficient school counselor this is an idea that i would like to implement to reach into the homes of our students.

Useful websites for School Counselors

Here are a couple of websites that are useful to school counselors.

www.brainpop.com is a website that has short clip movies/videos from a humorous robot (Moby) and his pal, Tim. The videos range from bullying, to hygiene, loss, and more. There is a 5 day free trial period so you can see if this website would accommodate your needs as a counselor. There is a brainpop for grades 3-6 and a brainpop jr. that is grade appropriate for k-2. This website would be useful to classroom teachers as well as counselors and can be purchased individually or for the whole building.

Another website that I have found that I really like is http://www.elementaryschoolcounseling.org

This website is full of useful ideas for teaching guidance to a classroom of students. There are items for character education, bullying, career readiness, and there is even a blog from the creator of the website, Marissa Rex. I really like how easy it is to navigate the website and find useful tidbits.

Weekly Roundup of Sept 3-7

This past week has been a busy week. As I have been watching and learning the ins and outs of what a school counselor really does I realize that a counselor wears many hats! This past week was our first Family Night of the year and the principal asked our counselor to head the Family Night because he had to attend a meeting. Without much warning and heads-up my counselor takes on the challenge and I got to help her set-up the activities and schedule for the evening. I was able to set up stations with the bridges Family Resource Center, PTA, and Library for some of the stations for parents and their student to visit. The turnout was a little lower than I had expected with about 150 people. 

This has been a busy week for conflict as well. As I shadowed my school counselor I was surprised of how many calls she received for bullying, aggression, and other conflicts among students. I have seen first-hand of how difficult it can be to follow a daily schedule with various interruptions as instances surfaced that needed immediate attention. Flexibility is a must in being a school counselor.

My school counselor reminded me that a counselor’s obligation is to the students benefit, and sometimes other adults will become frustrated when they think that the counselor is just ‘hiding out’ in their office. Sometimes a school counselor hears staff gossiping about how they think the counselor is slacking and be able to extinguish those conversations when they are over heard in a professional manner.

What does it mean to be a counselor? I believe that a counselor is a helping professional who chooses a counseling career path that should empower other individuals. Tome a counselor is someone who guides others to find opportunities that maybe others didn't know about or see was there for the taking.  Counselors are an important component of my area (rural Eastern KY) for different reasons. In our elementary schools, students need a safe neutral place to let go of their anxieties and fears that occur within their lives. Counselors in the school systems in my area deal with a wide arrangement of helping high school students find scholarships for college, to working with social services and educating families of how to provide a better life for children, and even helping people deal with disaster within the community. I have chosen to embark on the career path of counseling for different reasons. I do enjoy watching how people grow and change in a positive light. Self-reliance has always been important to me and I have seen that a lot of people do not know how to be self-reliant, and I want to help others see that they can’t always control what happens in their lives but they can control how they react and adapt to what happens in their lives and still lead a productive and accomplishing life.