School Counseling Abby Ward

Cindy Jolly

Somewhat like an ER doctor There is no typical day as far as protocol goes in my job. A school counselor is somewhat like an “ER” doctor in that you enter the building not knowing what to expect. Our job is to handle whatever academic, social, emotional, and other wise challenge or crisis that may present themselves in the lives of students, teachers, administrators, and sometimes parents. I typically check my at the beginning of each day to determine if there is anything that needs to be on top of my daily priority list. I may have a day all nice and neatly planned out only to be “called to duty” by some other more pressing issue or assignment made by an administrator. Typically a counselor is expected to work with students individually, in groups, and in classroom guidance activities. We are expected to address the developmental areas in students’ lives of academics, psycho/social, and career education. We are required to work with all facets of a school setting, which include program planning/implementation, execution, and evaluation. We work with students, staff, administrators, parents, community resource personnel as we coordinate, consult, and counsel as necessary.

Education As an undergraduate I studied intermediate education with a concentrated amount of classes in the social sciences. As a graduate student my studies was in School Counseling. How did you get started? I began my career as an 8 th grade classroom teacher and knew from day one my personality was not going to allow me to stay in the classroom for very long. I went back to graduate school after my first year of teaching and began “courting” the principals at the schools where I hope to work. A year later, I was hired by one of the principals to be a 6 th grade classroom teacher as I completed my graduate studies. I taught for three more years and then was hired by another principal to be a guidance counselor. I learned the importance of early planning and connecting with potential employers.

this career is everything and more than I expected. It is the kind of job I would do even if I didn’t get paid for it. I wouldn’t do it as early in the morning and would certainly do it on my time preference, but I would do it. I don’t think I really knew what to expect as far as specifically what I would do. I don’t think most jobs are close to being what they “theoretically” and “academically” are described to be when you talk about the areas of human development and interactions. We “mental health” type professionals must always be willing to expect the unexpected, which is seldom found in a text book.

Many layers to any onion My greatest challenge, overall, is juggling all the duties I am expected to carry out over the course of an academic year and determining where to place my greatest concentration of energy. I also am, at times challenged, not to allow my emotions to become involved in what I am professionally called to do. There typically are many layers to any onion. Knowing where to stop peeling can be quite challenging at times.

An open mind, a protected heart The greatest skill necessary for all counselors, in my opinion, has to do with always remembering to keep an open mind, a protected heart, and a willingness to remain a life long learner in the area of human needs, development, and struggle. Remaining alive and not allowing yourself to become “jaded” by the condition of the human spirit, after dealing with countless crisis and challenges in the lives of innocent children is, by far, personally my greatest challenge.

Nothing is new In the word of academics, the longer I am here, the more I am convinced that nothing is new. We are forever developing new titles or new packages to place a lot of the tried and sometimes true methods of doing what we do.

Glass Half full I think this question is as individual as the individual employers, but over all I believe there is a common thread in those wise souls who are hiring counselors. I believe they are looking for someone with a sense of stability, leadership, dependability, reliability, commitment to personal development, and of course the academic credentials. A positive personality (glass half full) is always a plus.

Career Path From my experience, a typical career path in the field of a school counselor looks like starting out as a classroom teacher and then entering the field of school counseling. Sometimes mental health professionals, like social workers, psychologist, or agency counselors decide to transition in school counseling.

Keep your eyes open Try your best to remember most of what you learned in school. Be prepared to discover most of it doesn’t have a real world application but is vital in helping you determine what you passion is and will prepare you to learn more about how you may want to “fit” yourself into the world of work. Be sure to keep your eyes open and identify someone who can officially or unofficially be one of your career mentors and learn from them.

Keep an open mind Doing just what you are doing: Take a class that will require you to ask these kinds of questions and involve yourself in the places where you think you may, one day, want to work. Talk to professionals already in the field and if, at all possible, volunteer or do some kind of internship in those places as soon as possible. You may discover you need to change your action plan. Keep an open mind and a willing spirit. Make no life long career decisions out of fear.

The more professional in your field of interest you can talk to the better. I am not aware of any organizations for individuals outside the helping profession, but the more contacts you can make the better. Remember to make this fun for you! You are the bright spot in the future of our world!!! You are the bright spot