Week 14-Post of choice

It appears that I have previously forgotten to post something additional for week 14 other than my reflection, so here we go.  I hope that I can just blame this on pregnancy brain, at least for the time being!  Then I will blame it on being the mother of three!  I feel that I have voiced this before but I am glad that my practicum experience gave me the opportunity to get back into school and working with students.  I have been a stay at home mom for the past couple of years and I have enjoyed my time home but I am ready to feel like a professional again!  This practicum gave me the opportunity to feel professional again, even as a student!  It has also reinforced my feelings of going back to work even after giving birth to baby number 3!

I have a very genuine love and concern for children.  I always have known that I needed to pursue a career in which I could work with students.  It would be wonderful to be a student counselor but I am afraid that it will be difficult to find a counseling position in any of the surrounding counties.  There are very many counselors seeking positions and limited positions to fill.  I am beginning my search for a teaching or student counseling position and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead for me professionally.

My Blogging Experience

I was new to the blogging experience when I began this class.  Sure I had stumbled upon some blogs on the internet but never had I posted any of my own.  I used this blog as a way to communicate with fellow classmates and to have a way to voice my reflections throughout my practicum experience. 

I will admit that I have had a love/hate relationship with my blog throughout this course.  I feel that it was just hard for me to keep up with the weekly blogs and my practicum hours.  The part that stands out for me the most about my blogging experience is having the chance to research student counseling information on the internet to include in my blog.  This gave me the opportunity to find some valuable resources that I can use in my counseling experience.  An advantage to using the blog over a more traditional journaling activity is that it incorporates the use of technology which as graduate students and future student counselors we need to be familiar with.  The main disadvantage I found was that I had a hard time keeping up with whose blogs I had responded to.  Maybe there was a simple way to figure that out and I just never did!

As I stated before I had mixed feelings about the blog.  I think it was a good way to force myself to reflect on my practicum experience but it was difficult to keep up with at times.  I don’t have one particular thought that stands out for me.  I spent a lot of my time throughout this course feeling a little overwhelmed by personal and professional events that all seemed to be happening at once. 

I believe that my assumptions about counseling have changed in the fact that I realize a lot of schools deal with the same problems.  It does not matter how large or small the school population is or the economic status of the students they are a generally having the same difficulties and issues that they are trying to work through.  As I stated before the blog did force me to reflect on my counseling experience.  Reflection is always a good thing because it forces us to look at our experiences in life and make changes if needed.  As individuals we always need to be reflecting in our personal and professional lives.

I like that the blogging experience did give me a chance to reflect.  It also allowed me to find valuable information on the internet that I will be able to use even after this class is over.  I was also able to follow my classmates and see how my experience compared to theirs and to gain information from them as well.  One challenging part about the blog was just keeping up with what I was supposed to be blogging about and not getting behind.  I also found it a challenge to keep up with posts that I had made comments on.  Because of these challenges I would recommend to future students that they stay up to date on weekly blogs so that they do not become overwhelmed with it.  I feel that that this blog has given me the chance to share everything that is significant with my practicum experience.

Continued learning and growth

I plan to continue growing professionally as a counselor or educator by first looking for a job where I can continue being a student counselor.  It is not easy to find a student counseling position in the area that I live considering there is usually only one at each school, but I will begin searching and waiting to see if a position would become available.  My immediate plan is to work as a substitute teacher until I can find a teaching or counseling position.  Being a substitute teacher will allow me to continue my experience with working with students and help to build my confidence.  I also plan on continuing my education my taking more counseling classes towards my Rank I degree.  I feel that it is also important to stay up to date on the latest news and changes in the student counseling career by being connected to organizations such as ACA.  I feel it is very important to stay updated in technnology at all times.  Technology is used every day while working with students so it is crucial to stay up to date on the latest technology changes.  Personally, it is important to reflect on how I can improve as well.  Considering this is the end of the year, it is a great time to reflect on changes I would like to make.  I would like to become more organized to help simplify my life.  My life could be less chaotic with a little more organization!  I would also like to better manage my time.  I like to use checklists to help with time management, but I have gotten out of the habit of doing that.  Those are some ways I can improve personally.

Counseling Reflection

This has been an adventurous semester to say the least.  I think I took on my practicum during a very stressful time in my life, but I am happy to say that I did complete it!  This has by far been the greatest learning experience throughout my graduate time at Morehead State University.  I had the opportunity to work with two wonderful counselors who are devoted to their work as student counselors and truly want the best for the students.  I spent my practicum hours at an elementary school and a middle school.  Both experiences were great but they were different.

            During my time at the elementary school I was very surprised at all the duties that the counselor takes on.  She is the counselor as well as the gifted and talented teacher.  She also has many administrative duties that she performs for the school as well.  I learned that as a school counselor you have to be flexible, because you never know what the day may bring you.  Considering she was at the elementary level, she spent a good amount of time teaching guidance lessons to students.  She let me take on all the guidance lessons for the kindergarten, first and second grade classes.  This again was a great learning experience, because it has been a few years since I have been teaching in the classroom.  I also had the opportunity to individually counsel two students during my time at the elementary school.  I enjoyed my time with each of these students and feel they quickly learned that I was someone they could trust.  Communication came fairly easy with one student because she was very open with me, but I had to take more time to get to know the second student before he would communicate as much.  I quickly learned that he enjoyed playing board games, so we would play those while I talked to him.  I found that this helped him to open up to me and communicate more.  It made me feel good when he told me that his day was better after getting to meet with me.

     My time at the middle school was a different experience than my time at the elementary school.  While I was at the middle school, I was surprised at how many students the counselor has in and out of her office each day.  I found that I really looked forward to going there because I knew that each day I was there I would get to meet with several students and you never knew what situation you may be dealt with from them.  The counselor that I worked with had a great relationship with the students, so it was obvious at how much they trusted her.  I spent the majority of my time there listening to her counsel students and assisting her as well.  There were days that my heart broke for some of these students and the situations that they were dealing with at home or school.  I learned that as a counselor at a school you also have to deal with problems that arise in the classroom that need you to take on an assertive role.  I was listening to the counselor talk to a student who was getting in trouble in class and he was caught in a lie.  She handled the situation with confidence and enough sternness that the student knew that lying to her was unacceptable. 

            I think the thing that surprised me the most about myself through this experience was how much I miss working with students.  I have been staying at home with my two daughters for almost four years now, but I am ready to be back in the schools with students.  I have a genuine concern for children and I was reminded of that throughout this experience.  I feel that I have gained more confidence throughout this practicum experience.  I was definitely nervous about getting in the classrooms and individually counseling students but with experience it became easier.  I feel that I realize now just how important it is to have a great relationship with all the students, so that they feel comfortable in coming to talk to you. 

Skittles Ice Breaker

I chose to use an ice breaker with the class using skittles.  For this activity I first put some skittles in a small plastic baggie.  I just tried to make sure that there was at least one of each color in each bag. Then the students had to share something about themselves with the class for each color.  The amount of information they were to give depended on how many skittles they had for that color.  Here is what I used:

Red Skittle:  Tell class one fact about yourself.

Orange Skittle:  Tell class one fact about someone in your family.

Yellow Skittle:  Tell class about a place you would like to visit or have visited.

Green Skittle:  Tell class about a favorite memory.

Purple Skittle:  Tell class about a favorite movie or television show.

So if a student had 2 red skittles, then they would have to share 2 facts about themselves with the class.  Then I would do the same process for each skittle color.  This will help the class or group to get to know each other better and feel more comfortable around one another.

Middle School Counseling Experience

I had a great learning experience while working with a middle school counselor.  I was very surprised at how many students come in and out of her office each day.  The counselor was very busy throughout the day meeting with students who came to her office having difficulties they wanted to discuss or having trouble in class.  She barely had time to fit in the administrative duties for that day.  I enjoyed being there because she did meet with so many students each day, which is my favorite part of student counseling.  It was also a very awakening experience to see what problems these students encounter at home and at school.  The counselor that I was working with had a wonderful relationship with the students and it was obvious that they trusted her and felt comfortable confiding with her.  I was surprised that I enjoyed being there as much as I did considering I have more experience with elementary students.

Metaphor I can use while counseling

I found a metaphor that I felt could be beneficial to clients.  The Wizard of Oz has always been one of my favorite movies and I have found a metaphor that can be used to relate this movie to our lives.  The story is based on the main character, Dorothy who is trying to become what she is meant to be.  This is symbolized by her many attempts to get home.  Dorothy learns that she cannot do this alone and she needs the help of others.  Many students are trying to figure out what their future holds and what they want to do with their life, but they must realize that they need the help of others.  Those other people can be family, friends, teachers and counselors.  Along the way, Dorothy meets three people who in reality, are ego states that are within her.  Dorothy learns that to achieve your goal, you need to use your head (a brain), you need to have passion and feeling for what you want ( a heart), and you need to have determination and be willing to take risks (courage).    Through the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, Dorothy learns that she has all of these within her.   Students need to understand that in order to be successful throughout life that they need and education and to use their head, a passion for what they want out of life and determination.

Dorothy also encounters some characters that help her to learn more about life.  For instance she thought a lot about the Wizard and felt he was strong but realized that those people are often just as ordinary as we are.  She also found out that people who try to hurt us in lots of ways are more vulnerable than we are (Wicked Witch of the West).  Students need to realize that to be successful in life they need to experience this world and look within themselves to achieve their goals in life.