Professional Development- Join an Organization(Before)

I am choosing to join ASCA, which stands for the American School Counselor Association. I am joining this organization because I am studying to become a school counselor, and I feel that I can learn great information from their website. Also, I feel that I will have numerous tools available to me that could help me now, while I am still studying to become a school counselor. I learned on their website that they have over 27,000 members in their association, so I hope to meet some of the members and discuss our profession.

Professional Development- Advocacy Act(Before)

The advocacy act that I have chosen is to write a letter to the N.J. govenor advocating for teachers and school counselors. I am writing this letter because he needs to know that he cannot fix all of the problems with the education system in just one year, and by making irrational decisions. He needs to know that their are human's lives involved here, and he is making it impossible to survive in one of the most expensive states. I hope to enlighten him to some alternative ways to correct the system; ways that do not cripple people who have joined a profession to hlep and educate the future of America. I will blog tomorrow to let you know how my letter turned out.

Professional Development -Shadow A Counselor (After)

During my time spent with one of our school counselors yesterday, I was able to ask her a few questions, and actually sit in a session with one of her clients. In the session with one of her students, I was introduced to the student, and told the student why I was there. I observed her using a program called Naviance to assist this Junior student in her college decision making process. They were using Naviance as a way to determine schools that were the farthest from home, and it also gave insight to what type of campus that college offers.(i.e. closed campus, or city campus) They then began to start analyzing data such as her grades, SAT scores, and any clubs she has been involved with, to see what school would be the best match for her, and which schools she stands a great chance of getting into. The counselor then told the client that because she has a high interest in Science that it would be worth her time to try taking the ACT, to get her test scores up. They also began exploring possible majors as a program of study. This started by finding her true interests and things that she is passionate about. Then they started looking at what subjects she excells in, as this is a big part of selecting a major. The counselor during this session was extremely positive, and very informative to the student. You could tell when the student left, that she was not as stressed about college, now that she has begun the process.

In the rest of my time spent with the counselor, we had a discussion about different questions in reference to the counseling profession. I asked her "What specific requirements for the job are needed?" She answered "You need a Master's degree in school counseling." I then was interested in how long she has been a counselor. She told me that she has been a counselor for seven years. She was an addiction counselor for four years. She then came to our school as the Student Assistance Counselor in her first year, and now she has been serving as a regular school counselor for the last two years. I also was interested in her actual schedule of things to do during the course of a school day. She told me that each counselor has a schedule of clients that they need to meet with each day. When they get a break in their schedule, they use that break to make phone calls to parents, to set appointments for later days in the week, check up on student grades, or see if students have received any discipline referrals. Although she did tell me that there is no true typical day as a counselor, and that to be a great counselor you have to have extreme flexibility. I then asked her what is her favorite and least favorite part of her job. She then told me that her least favorite part was writing letters of recommendation, because she is a perfectionist, and she feels that she needs to write the perfect letter for all 7o something students. Her favorite part is working with the students and setting a bar for their success, and to witness their growth. I then asked her what advice she would give a brand new counselor. She emphatically stated "TIME MANAGEMENT!!!!!!!!" She also added in organization, because with out organizing your papers, and files, and without managing your time, you will easily feel overwhelmed. I asked her if she felt if there were both pros and cons to having supervision. She answered " Yes, the bad part of it is that it can become stressful, because in a school counseling position you are trying to acieve tenure. On the other hand it is great because you have a great resource to go to, and they serve as a mentor in many ways." I finally asked her which theory she practices from with her clients. She answered "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, because the more positive reinforcement you give a kid, the more they will respond and grow."

What surprised me the msot during this visit was the amount of piles of paper work and files are involved with the job. This assignment affected me in a positive way and reassured me in my choice to become a school counselor. It helped me because I was able to see how flexible you need to be, and how you kind of need to wear many different hats, to serve many different people, not just clients, but your boss, your secretaries and so on. This helped a great deal.

Professional Development- Shadow A Counselor (Before)

Today, I have three periods off at work, and since our periods are one hour in length, I found one of our school counselors who agreed to let me shadow her. I guess what I am expecting to see is her working with students on finalzing the school year and doing the necessary preparations for the fall in regards to college admissions. I think this will be interesting because I am doing it all in one day, I will actually get a feel for what a day would be like as a school counselor. I hope to learn how to effeciently and effectively run a meeting with a client from start to finish, no matter how long the session is. I will blog later or tomorrow to let you know how it went.

Professional Development-Community Service(After)

When I went to the nursing home, I was excited, but didn't really know what my responsibilities were going to be, or who I was going to be working with. In the end, it didn't matter, because I loved the experience. I was asked to go to patient's rooms and assist them in getting into their wheelchairs. Then I would push them down to the dining hall and sit with them for dinner. When dinner was over I then wheeled them to the community hall, for games and activities. They had the choice to play bingo or dominos. During this time, I met a woman who was 100 years old. She truly brought the "with age comes wisdom" phrase alive. She kept telling me that although I am trying hard now to meet my goals, to set new ones once I accomplish my current goals. She then told me "if you stop learning, it is the same as being dead."
This experience for me was nothing but positive because I went beyond just my own needs and desires, and I put the wants and needs of others first. Even in doing that I still was learning so much. This gave me a glimpse of what counseling could be like, as we are there to serve clients, and to also in some sense learn from them.

Professional Development- Community Service

As my first Professional Development activity, I will be doing community service at a nursing home in Ridgewood,N.J. I am excited about this opportunity because I know in some way I will be bringing at least a tiny piece of joy to others, while at the same time learning more about maybe some of the feelings people go thorugh as they enter into the last stages of the cycle of life. I hope that during my hours spent there I can provide any assistance that will make their days a little easier, and at the same time learn a little bit about the mindset of patients, since counseling in part deals with mental health.

I love getting beyond myself and my own needs to serivce other people, so I am truly looking forward to this tomorrow night.

CACREP

CACREP stands for Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. Just recently the counseling program at Montclair State University received CACREP accreditation. This was extremely important for our program as it continues to grow in size, and move into the future for many different reasons. First off, it truly gives our program a solid reputation. Secondly, it allows for peer recognition and constant consultation, which is huge in the counseling profession. Another great reason is that it allows our program to be one that now has the ability to self assess and then direct our own improvement and/or development. The best reason though is that it holds our program accountable to meeting national standards.
(All of these reasons can be found on the CACREP website at www.CACREP.org)

By attending a CACREP accredited program, it truly makes my future beyond graduationg from the program much easier, and it makes me look better in the eyes of possible employers. It lets my future employer know that I attended a program that meets and even exceeds national standards. This gives me great credibility. Also, by attending a CACREP accreditited program, it will make liscensure an easier process.

I am very excited that Montclair recently got this accredititation and that I am a part of their program.

Introduction

My name is Craig Jandoli, and I am currently enrolled in the Master's Degree program for counseling with a concentration in school counseling at Montcliar State University. For the longest time, helping teenagers with their mental, emotional, and physical heatlh has been a great passion of mine. I am excited about my opportunity here at Montcliar State to learn many new concepts about the counseling profession.

I will be blogging here on a daily basis to keep you updated on my studies, and different discussions I may have with my classmates.

-Craig

Welcome

Welcome to my professional blog!!!!!!!