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.