Week 7 feels a bit like week 700. In class tonight I'm supposed to turn in a tape of a group counseling situation. I don't have mine thanks to missing my practicum at my elementary site last week which puts me a week behind. I'm supposed to have a student evaluation signed tonight. Nope. Don't have that either. I'll have to fax it tomorrow. I feel like such a spaz right now.
Reflecting on my counseling abilities today is somewhat depressing. It's so hard to get real opportunities to counsel. My elementary site offers classroom and group opportunities but my high school site only offers really contrived opportunities. I really want to help students through counseling but now I'm wondering if I will even have the opportunity!
I do feel as though I have a good grasp on my strengths and weaknesses even though the first submitted tape didn't really offer the opportunity to evaluate those. I definitely want to continue to work on feeling more comfortable working with younger kids and I'm really worried about how I will handle working with resistant students since it doesn't look as if my practicum semester is going to offer that kind of experience at all. Practice makes perfect - or in this case at least more comfortable - the only way to feel more adequate and able is to continue exposing myself to as much experience working with students in counseling situations as I possibly can. The evidence of improvement will be, I think, a sense that I know what I'm doing. I'm not really sure that there is anything we can do in class to help me with these things, as I think the only way to really learn how to be an effective counselor is through practice and experience over time.
Next week I will get to start working with a small group of 2nd grade boys. At the request of their teacher, we will be working on responsibility and respect. I'm actually excited and my supervisor is giving me pretty much free reign to do whatever lessons I want. If anyone has any recommendations, I'm all ears.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Playing Catch Up - Movie Recs for Counselors of High School Students
I'm so behind this semester. There are not enough hours in the day to do everything I need to do. Add being sick and having a sick, snotty 3 year old to the mix and the result is even less time/energy to get everything done!
Last week's assignment was to post about a couple movie/video recommendations for counselors. After thinking about this I'm going to go with some slightly "different" choices. My recommendations are Mean Girls and Thirteen. Both of these movies deal with some of the issues that teenage girls face daily and I think counselors, especially male counselors, would benefit from this insight. Even thought I am obviously female, I know that the school atmosphere has changed somewhat since I was there and movies like these remind us of exactly what girls are going through now.
Mean Girls is a somewhat lighthearted look at bullying among girls in a high school setting. The plot is rather simple - a new student comes into a high school that is ruled by a group of popular girls called "The Plastics". The new student, Cady, is befriended by a couple of social outcasts and they come up with a plan to "destroy" the Plastics by having her pretend to be one of them and sabotaging them in various ways. Of course, through her pretending Cady starts to act like one of the "Plastics" and eventually becomes the leader of the group, turning her back on her true friends. Lessons are learned and they all live happily ever after once the clique is disbanded. When we think of bullying, usually we think of the biggest guy in the class picking on the smallest, weakest, most nerdy one, stuffing him into lockers and trashcans - all of the stereotypes. We don't often think about how painful it can be to be targeted by girls who focus on your appearance, socioeconomic status, and other superficial aspects. This movie reminds us of these things. Even though the movie was exaggerated in a lot of instances, it gave a pretty accurate portrayal of what it is like to be a teenage girl (if my memories of middle school serve me right, that is).
Thirteen is an anything-but-lighthearted look at some other issues teenage girls, especially middle school aged girls, face. The plot is not that of a typical teen movie. It surrounds Tracy, a thirteen year old girl who is entering seventh grade. She is a straight-A student looking forward to the new school year. On the first day she realizes that many of the popular students she attends school with have matured over the summer. What follows is her quest to fit in with this popular group and its leader, Nikki, through partaking in underage drinking and drug use, stealing, body-piercing and sex. Her recovering alcoholic mother turns a blind eye for a period of time as she deals with her own problems, her father doesn't want any part of taking care of her, and her brother is too young to do anything about his little sister's escalating problems, which lead to her cutting herself. Thirteen doesn't have a neat and tidy happy ending like a lot of movies, but does offer some hope for the lead character at the end. I think this movie is eye-opening to a lot of the issues that our youth are facing at earlier ages today than ever before.
Last week's assignment was to post about a couple movie/video recommendations for counselors. After thinking about this I'm going to go with some slightly "different" choices. My recommendations are Mean Girls and Thirteen. Both of these movies deal with some of the issues that teenage girls face daily and I think counselors, especially male counselors, would benefit from this insight. Even thought I am obviously female, I know that the school atmosphere has changed somewhat since I was there and movies like these remind us of exactly what girls are going through now.
Mean Girls is a somewhat lighthearted look at bullying among girls in a high school setting. The plot is rather simple - a new student comes into a high school that is ruled by a group of popular girls called "The Plastics". The new student, Cady, is befriended by a couple of social outcasts and they come up with a plan to "destroy" the Plastics by having her pretend to be one of them and sabotaging them in various ways. Of course, through her pretending Cady starts to act like one of the "Plastics" and eventually becomes the leader of the group, turning her back on her true friends. Lessons are learned and they all live happily ever after once the clique is disbanded. When we think of bullying, usually we think of the biggest guy in the class picking on the smallest, weakest, most nerdy one, stuffing him into lockers and trashcans - all of the stereotypes. We don't often think about how painful it can be to be targeted by girls who focus on your appearance, socioeconomic status, and other superficial aspects. This movie reminds us of these things. Even though the movie was exaggerated in a lot of instances, it gave a pretty accurate portrayal of what it is like to be a teenage girl (if my memories of middle school serve me right, that is).
Thirteen is an anything-but-lighthearted look at some other issues teenage girls, especially middle school aged girls, face. The plot is not that of a typical teen movie. It surrounds Tracy, a thirteen year old girl who is entering seventh grade. She is a straight-A student looking forward to the new school year. On the first day she realizes that many of the popular students she attends school with have matured over the summer. What follows is her quest to fit in with this popular group and its leader, Nikki, through partaking in underage drinking and drug use, stealing, body-piercing and sex. Her recovering alcoholic mother turns a blind eye for a period of time as she deals with her own problems, her father doesn't want any part of taking care of her, and her brother is too young to do anything about his little sister's escalating problems, which lead to her cutting herself. Thirteen doesn't have a neat and tidy happy ending like a lot of movies, but does offer some hope for the lead character at the end. I think this movie is eye-opening to a lot of the issues that our youth are facing at earlier ages today than ever before.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
5 Goals
This semester I would like to...
1) Get more comfortable working with elementary-age students. As a high school teacher, they intimidate me.
2) Get more opportunities to talk with students at the high school level about something other than testing or college choices. Those things are important, but there are more things students need help with!
3) Help my own children see that I CAN HELP THEM, TOO!
4) Find a way to help my supervising high school counselor offer more time for actual counseling. She is overwhelmed with testing and administrative duties and has very little time to actually counsel students with anything other than problems related to those things!
5) Feel prepared to actually counsel students on my own. Right now I find the entire process to be very intimidating!
1) Get more comfortable working with elementary-age students. As a high school teacher, they intimidate me.
2) Get more opportunities to talk with students at the high school level about something other than testing or college choices. Those things are important, but there are more things students need help with!
3) Help my own children see that I CAN HELP THEM, TOO!
4) Find a way to help my supervising high school counselor offer more time for actual counseling. She is overwhelmed with testing and administrative duties and has very little time to actually counsel students with anything other than problems related to those things!
5) Feel prepared to actually counsel students on my own. Right now I find the entire process to be very intimidating!
Monday, October 1, 2012
A Little Reflection
I'm exhausted. At this point I have about half of my hours in and I'm worn out. I don't know how my classmates who are working full-time are having enough time to do this. I am working on my practicum every day that I can, subbing on days when I can't, and trying to keep my house from falling into complete and utter ruin. I collapse into bed every night and lay there thinking of the 200 things I need to accomplish the next day. The fact that I'm trying to "land" a job next month and study for my upcoming exit exam doesn't help my exhaustion factor.
I've started working with elementary kids at my elementary site. I've learned a few things so far...
1. Little kids want you to like them. They want that with every sticky, smelly cell of their little beings.
2. Little kids HAVE to touch you. Whether they have just sneezed into their magic-marker colored hands, or have just emerged, hands dripping, from the restroom - THEY HAVE TO TOUCH YOU.
3. Little kids, when gathered in large groups, have a smell. I've tried to identify it, but the closest I can come to putting it into words is by imagining combining the smells of crayons, soap, the cafeteria, and a little bit of dirt all into one.
I'm not an elementary teacher...I've always preferred working with older students. Elementary teachers get my utmost respect. I could not do their jobs. And theirs is such an important job! This week I start teaching classroom guidance lessons by myself and I'm somewhat (okay a lot) terrified. Wish me luck.
In working with my high school supervising counselor the main thing I've learned so far is that even if I could clone myself 10 times and move into the school, cutting off all other responsibilities, there still aren't enough hours in the day to do everything that you'd like to do to help your students be their best.
I've started working with elementary kids at my elementary site. I've learned a few things so far...
1. Little kids want you to like them. They want that with every sticky, smelly cell of their little beings.
2. Little kids HAVE to touch you. Whether they have just sneezed into their magic-marker colored hands, or have just emerged, hands dripping, from the restroom - THEY HAVE TO TOUCH YOU.
3. Little kids, when gathered in large groups, have a smell. I've tried to identify it, but the closest I can come to putting it into words is by imagining combining the smells of crayons, soap, the cafeteria, and a little bit of dirt all into one.
I'm not an elementary teacher...I've always preferred working with older students. Elementary teachers get my utmost respect. I could not do their jobs. And theirs is such an important job! This week I start teaching classroom guidance lessons by myself and I'm somewhat (okay a lot) terrified. Wish me luck.
In working with my high school supervising counselor the main thing I've learned so far is that even if I could clone myself 10 times and move into the school, cutting off all other responsibilities, there still aren't enough hours in the day to do everything that you'd like to do to help your students be their best.
Top 20 Reasons My School Needs ANOTHER School Counselor
Yes, I know my post is a little late...but that goes hand in hand with this post.
Top 20 Reasons My School Needs ANOTHER School Counselor:
SO.....
20. The current school counselor might actually get a lunch break.
19. Students might actually have the opportunity to be counseled about something other than college/scholarship opportunities
18. Navigating Quality Core updating might be a bit easier (frustrations may cause one counselor to put her fist through her computer screen...it would be nice to have a back-up!)
17. There would actually be a counselor on campus every day. Currently this is impossible as the school counselor takes students on college visits, attends training for various things, etc. and is only on campus about 50% of the time.
16. The counselors could feel like counselors and not administrators as administrative duties would be split.
15. If the counselor had to be away from school for any extended period of time, there would still be a counselor on campus who knows what is going on
14. The school counselor would have someone to commiserate with and retain confidentiality
13. Students could have more access to scholarship/college/testing information
12. Parents could have more access to scholarship/college/testing information
11. There would be more time for community involvement
10. Students need a person they can come to for help with social/emotional issues and right now the counselor is simply not available.
9. The counselor would have more time to get to know students on a casual basis (between classes, during breakfast, etc.)
8. Students would actually find out what the counselor looks like!
7. The counselor would be less likely to feel totally burnt out at the end of the day/week/month/year.
6. Students would feel more valued.
5. Teachers would have the option to refer students for counseling services when they see a need.
4. There would be more opportunities for classroom guidance lessons on issues students are dealing with every day.
3. School would feel like a safer place.
2. More students could experience success
1. There can never be too many people who care about student well-being and success!
Over the past few weeks I have seen firsthand how completely overwhelmed a single counselor can be when they are trying to do everything they can for their students. I could do practicum hours every single day and I know that my supervising counselor loves being able to utilize my time. She keeps me busy!
Top 20 Reasons My School Needs ANOTHER School Counselor:
SO.....
20. The current school counselor might actually get a lunch break.
19. Students might actually have the opportunity to be counseled about something other than college/scholarship opportunities
18. Navigating Quality Core updating might be a bit easier (frustrations may cause one counselor to put her fist through her computer screen...it would be nice to have a back-up!)
17. There would actually be a counselor on campus every day. Currently this is impossible as the school counselor takes students on college visits, attends training for various things, etc. and is only on campus about 50% of the time.
16. The counselors could feel like counselors and not administrators as administrative duties would be split.
15. If the counselor had to be away from school for any extended period of time, there would still be a counselor on campus who knows what is going on
14. The school counselor would have someone to commiserate with and retain confidentiality
13. Students could have more access to scholarship/college/testing information
12. Parents could have more access to scholarship/college/testing information
11. There would be more time for community involvement
10. Students need a person they can come to for help with social/emotional issues and right now the counselor is simply not available.
9. The counselor would have more time to get to know students on a casual basis (between classes, during breakfast, etc.)
8. Students would actually find out what the counselor looks like!
7. The counselor would be less likely to feel totally burnt out at the end of the day/week/month/year.
6. Students would feel more valued.
5. Teachers would have the option to refer students for counseling services when they see a need.
4. There would be more opportunities for classroom guidance lessons on issues students are dealing with every day.
3. School would feel like a safer place.
2. More students could experience success
1. There can never be too many people who care about student well-being and success!
Over the past few weeks I have seen firsthand how completely overwhelmed a single counselor can be when they are trying to do everything they can for their students. I could do practicum hours every single day and I know that my supervising counselor loves being able to utilize my time. She keeps me busy!
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