Goals that I am Working Towards

I have goals that I am working towards this year.  1)  I would like to feel more comfortable with individual counseling.  I feel that the more I have individual counseling sessions, the more comfortable I will feel doing them.  I also believe that by having peers and our professor review the sessions I will gain helpful suggestions on ways to improve them.  2) I would like to become more knowledgeable with technology that I can use to enhance my counseling sessions and my guidance lessons.  I have been out of the school system for over three years and it is amazing at how quickly things have changed.  Teachers are using new pieces of technology in their classrooms that I am not familiar with.  I feel the best way to learn more about these new pieces of technology is to actually use them instead of being intimidated by them.  3) I would like to become more knowledgeable about theories to integrate into my counseling sessions and therapeutic techniques to use with those as well.  I have obviously had classes about these theories but when it comes to putting them into practice I do not feel as confident.  It would be helpful to me to use some class time to go over these theories or to discuss with my classmates on theories and techniques they use.  4)  I want to learn more about what counselor do to plan and implement their plans at schools.  I would like to learn more about what is expected of counselors at the various levels of education.  I hope to gain a greater insight to this with the hours I spend working with the counselors at the schools during my Practicum.  5)  I would also like to become more assertive in personal and professional relationships.  As a counselor, I will be working with faculty, staff, parents and students.  I want to be able to have the confidence to say what I am thinking and feeling in a respectable manner.  I feel that this will come with experience.  The more experience I gain the more confident I will become.

Movies that Counselors Should View

Searching for movies that counselors should view makes me want to watch these movies on this cool, rainy evening!  The first movie I feel that counselors should view is "Lean on Me".  I know this movie has been around for some time but to me it is a classic.  I always loved that feeling it gave me towards the end of the movie when you start seeing lives changing and hope for the students.  The themes presented in this movie are:  abuse, neglect, poverty, violence, racial oppression, and resiliency.  The setting for this movie is a New Jersey high school. Morgan Freeman plays the new principal at the school who changes things up a bit with his tough love approach.  I feel counselors should watch the movie to be inspired by the principal's care for these students and the changes that are made in the school.   He shows the students just how important education is and also has high expectations for them.  These are students that some may educators may have just let fall through the cracks but he shows them that if they want to be successful then it is up to them.

The second movie that came to my mind is "Dangerous Minds".  This movie is another one that I always enjoyed watching because of how lives were changed in a positive way. This movie has the same themes as "Lean on Me" such as:  abuse, neglect, poverty, gangs, violence, racial oppression and resiliency.  This movie takes place in an inner-city school where a new teacher arrives to teach students who have been classified as students who do not care about school and have severe social problems. The students do give her a tough time at first but she does not quit and she ultimately gains their respect.  I believe counselors should view this movie because there are several issues addressed in it that counselors will encounter.  Some issues addressed are:  pregnancy, bullying, and a smart student who is afraid to show it.  This movie helps to inspire counselors and all educators who are working with troubled, at risk students to not give up on them.  It is easy to just give up and think you will never make a change in their life but sometimes they need to see that there is someone who will not give up on them and believes in them.   

20 Reasons why Schools Need a Counselor

Top 20 Reasons why my school needs a School Counselor

1.        The school needs a counselor so that each student knows there is someone in the school that they can talk to and know that they will be heard.

2.       The school needs a counselor to help students become problem solvers.

3.       The school needs a counselor to help students achieve personal and professional success.

4.       The school needs a counselor to inform students on various guidance lessons such as social skills.

5.       The school needs a counselor to educate students on topics such as drug abuse and peer pressure.

6.       The school needs a counselor to inform students on sex education.

7.       The school needs a counselor to educate students on career options related to their interests.

8.       The school needs a counselor to help students in making education decisions such as what classes to take in high school to prepare them for college.

9.       The school needs a counselor to guide students in making the decision about education following high school and provide them with their options.

10.   The school needs a counselor to provide students with the tools they need to deal with anxiety.

11.   The school needs a counselor so that the students have a person that they know they can go to that truly respects them and has their best interest in mind.

12.   The school needs a counselor to keep them up to date on the latest testing materials.

13.   The school needs a counselor to analyze data from various assessments.

14.   The school needs a counselor to help assist with administrative duties.

15.   The school needs a counselor to help establish a relationship with parents.

16.   The school needs a counselor to help the school stay connected to the community.

17.   The school needs a counselor to provide individual counseling to students who need guidance.

18.   The school needs a counselor to offer counseling in a group setting where students may feel more comfortable to express their thoughts and feeling.

19.   The school needs a counselor that teachers can collaborate with to better help the students.

20.   The school needs a counselor to teach students the importance of setting goals and working to achieve them!

My first Guidance Lessons-Week 4

This past week I had the opportunity to teach guidance lessons to the Kindergarten classes.  I was excited and nervous to teach these lessons because it had been over three years since I had been in the classroom.  My supervising counselor suggested that I do a lesson on manners for the classes because she had already started that with them at the beginning of the school year. Their teachers also felt that it was a great subject that the students needed a refresher on.  I continued the manners lesson by sharing a book about using good manners.  Then the students and I discussed ways that they can use good manners.  I also gave them example scenarios and they gave me either a thumbs up or a thumbs down.  Thumbs up was if the scenario suggested using good manners and of course thumbs down for scenarios using bad manners.  It actually felt very good to be back in the classroom working with students.  My last two years that I was teaching I actually taught kindergarten so it was great to be with the little ones again!  Now I am looking forward to my next guidance lesson with some first graders!

Week 3 Experience

This week I was able to visit my school one day and I met with my supervising counselor at the school.  We sat down to plan activities for this upcoming week.  She has been doing guidance lessons with the kindergarten classes on manners and suggested that I meet with the kindergarten classes to continue the lesson.  She gave me some books that I could read to them and suggested some material that I could use as well.  I am excited to visit with the little ones but I admit I am nervous as well.  It has been over three years since I have taught so I am hoping that it will just all come back to me!  We also discussed my individual counseling session for this upcoming week as well.  I have been stressing about this whole experience and getting all my hours in but I feel much better after we started getting a plan in place.

Great School Counseling Website Example

I found a website that is a great example of what to include in a website that I would create as a school counselor.  This website is for the Osceola Middle School.  I like how the home page addresses what school counseling is, the mission statement for the district's school counseling program, and the national standards.  This is great so that parents can be more informed on the counseling program and how beneficial it is to the students. This counselor provides several online resources and titles of books for teachers, students and parents.   There is an overview of classroom lessons that the counselor will be teaching throughout the year that are divided into grade levels. There is also information provided on the school's student support groups and how the referral process works for that support group.  There is also information on the summer school gifted and talented program, the family resource center, and the counselor's contact information.  I think it would be a great idea as a counselor to creat a website like this one.  It is a wonderful way to connect with parents and the community.  I would create a website similar to this one that included basic information on what school counseling is, the services I provide and rescources that parents and students can use for various issues they may face.  A lot of times, parents are not aware of who the counselor even is and what they do, so a website like this one would be a great informative tool. 
The following is the link to the website I found:
http://www.myteacherpages.com/webpages/KErickson/index.cfm

Website I can use

I found a very user friendly website that will be a great tool as a school counselor.  The website is simply titled "School Counselor Resources".  This site offers a variety of guidance lesson plans that can be used to teach students about topics such as:  social responsibility, bullying, problem solving, feelings, drug awareness and careers.  The majority of these lesson plans are for elementary students.  There are also several PowerPoint prentations that can be used with the guidance lessons.  Plus, a large amount of printable forms that student counselors can use when working with students, teachers and parents.  I will use this website to access lesson plans that I can use when teaching guidance lessons.  I am currently completing my practicum at an elementary school and these guidance lessons will be age appropriate.  I also like the PowePoint presentations because they will provide as a great visual tool for the students.  This website also has several links to other websites that will be useful as well.
The link to this website is:
http://classroom.jc-schools.net/guidance/