Informative Interview for Helping Professionals In order to have a better understanding of what exactly an individual in the helping profession does especially one who works with children; I decided to interview the Guidance Counselor and middle school student life coordinator Rebecca Louth at Saint Patrick’s Catholic School. Saint Patrick’s is a private Catholic school grade Pre-k through 8th. Before the interview I thought I had a good understanding of what the role a guidance counselor played within a school, but this interview helped me develop a better understanding of how a guidance counselor works. It also helped me understand how the staff and faculty at a school (specifically a private school) work; their day to day tasks. School/ Work Setting Saint Patrick’s Catholic school is a private school that consists of two “schools”; the lower school which is grades PreK through 4th and middle school which is grades 5th through 8th. Tuition is approximately $15,000 per year, but they do offer financial aid and “silent scholarships.” The school is home to more than 100 staff and faculty members which consists of administration staff, teachers, teacher assistants, and supporting staff. There is four administrative staff members: The Principal, Administrative assistant, Director of the lower school, and Director of Middle School. The degree level of the staff varies majority holding Masters degrees or in pursue of bachelors or master’s degree. Admission is considered from
My video followed the story of Frances Collins-Moore, a counselor at Marshall Fundamental High School. Her story highlights many topics related to school counseling including the importance of being flexible with professional duties, working directly with your student population, communicating with parents, student and teacher advocacy, and the importance of self-care. She worked as a teacher for ten years before transitioning to school counseling and has worked in a direct counseling role for the last ten years. I really appreciated her holistic approach to school counseling. She recognizes that different approaches are needed with different students in order to properly motivate them and address their concerns. She also sees herself as a
Nathaniel Bowditch is a school in the Salem Public school district. This school currently educates children from kindergarten through the eighth grade. Within the school, I volunteer my time with the adjustment counselor for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Throughout this paper, I will be discussing the counseling services at Nathaniel Bowditch through a client’s perspective. I will be discussing this client under the pseudonym of J, to ensure the privacy of the client. All of the information I will be using throughout this essay is from the client herself or her counselor. The goal of this paper is to discuss a background of the client, why and how long the client has been using this agency, the significance of the services
The agency I have chosen to volunteer my time at this semester is Nathaniel Bowditch Elementary, which is a part of the Salem Public School district. Nathaniel Bowditch is located at 79 Willson Street, Salem Massachusetts. This school provides education to students from kindergarten to eighth grade. Within this school, I am currently volunteering my time with Rebekah Prescott. Rebekah is the school adjustment counselor for students in kindergarten through fourth grade, a caseload of about three hundred students. The goal of this paper is to describe in detail the Nathaniel Bowditch School including the agency’s history, mission, organization, the services being provided, qualifications for these servers,
There is a strong population of students who attend the Catholic Church, too. The school cooperates with the catechism program by providing a location where leaders can pick up children for the after school program. The Boys and Girls Club also picks up students from the school campus for after school care. This cooperation between the school and extra-curricular programs suggests that there are many families where both parents work, and some students live in single parent households. In general, there is high parent involvement at the school and students are supported from these outside sources.
I interviewed Cory Rossman, a school counselor in an attempt to help build an awareness of the “real-life” experiences of the educational counseling profession. In my interview with Cory Rossman, we reflected on all different aspects of the career from what time was spent on various tasks to what he felt were the negative and positive aspects of being a school counselor. I gained insight into the career itself as well as what is essential to become a successful school counselor. Cory Rossman works at Foothill High School located in Shasta County. He services 320 students out of the 1,332 students at the campus.
For my informational interview I interviewed Hasty Elementary School Counselor Candace Thurman. Mrs. Thurman earned her B.A. in Psychology from Salem College and a MA Ed.S in Mental Health Counseling from Gardner Webb University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed School Counselor. Her maternal grandfather suffered from mental illness and was homeless. Seeing the impact his condition had on him as well as her family compelled her to choose a career in mental health. Mrs. Thurman worked in the middle school setting for 11 years. This year is her first year in an elementary school.
When I first found out about this assignment I was a little anxious because I didn 't know whom I would interview or how my request would be received. As I consider my options I thought it would be best to interview someone that could offer me some insight as to what it is like to be an elementary or junior high school counselor, which are the two age groups that I would most like to work with. With this in mind, I decided to interview one of my son 's past guidance counselors. This is a woman that I have admired since the first day that I met her. In talking with her I found her to be a very knowledgeable, caring, and open person. She has been in the helping profession for over twenty years and working as a guidance counselor since 1999.
My desire to work in the Catholic School system stems primarily from the ability to share my faith openly in such an environment, however, the Catholic School’s focus on the growth of the whole person, spiritual and academic and its commitment to service in the community and the world are also very important to me.
My pursuit of becoming a School Counselor led me to apply to the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland, College Park. I am a former student at University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After graduating and teaching for two years in Prince George’s County Public Schools, I discovered my true passion lies not only in the classroom and students’ academics, but playing a pivotal role in the growth of their career, social, and personal development. Although I am no longer teaching full-time at the moment, my interaction with students from diverse backgrounds left an indelible responsibility to continue making a difference in our students. The objectives and mission of the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland can best help my goal of becoming an effective counselor and leader who is an agent of change to students and service the mental and emotional well-being of the younger generation.
I interviewed several service providers in my school, Stephen Knight Center for Early Education, that included the psychologist, special education teacher and a general education teacher. I interviewed Ms. Iris, the school psychologist, Ms. Kathy, the special education teacher, and Ms. Hilary, a general education teacher. Ms. Iris’ responsibilities include working with students who have social emotional needs. This can include behavior challenges, learning new social skills, managing grief, etc. She works directly with parents and teachers to provide resources regarding the child’s well-being, and ensure good attendance by setting up plans. Ms. Iris works with children in general education, counseling groups, and one-on-one situations, including special education minutes. Ms. Hilary is a general education classroom teacher. She is responsible for the well-being of her students academically, socially, physically and developmentally. Ms. Hilary also advocates for families and students to receive the support that they need to feel successful in their first years of school. Finally, Ms. Kathy is the staffing
Over the course of the past few years, I have been very blessed to have professional experiences that reinforced my interest in social work. In 2014, I worked as a guidance counselor and learning support intern at St. Pius Elementary school in Greensboro, North Carolina. In the guidance-counseling department, I assisted with counseling appointments with children in grades K-8. We often discussed topics
When thinking in the terms of marriage and one’s partner, the words that come to my mind are compassion, love, tenderness, trust, and devotion. It’s truly amazing to see someone who has endured such tragedy in their life, who has suffered pain, fear, and betrayal by the hands of the one person who should have shown just the opposite. Little did I realize that the woman who would be my instructor for two college courses I had taken would be such an inspiration to me.
Counseling has many components in different fields such as a school counselor, marriage and family counseling, addiction counseling, individual and private practices, and many more. For my project, I interviewed Mrs. Ross Freeman, a school counselor who talks about her journey of becoming an Elementary School Counselor. We discuss what the requirement and cost were to receive a license in the counseling field. We were also able to discuss the average salary and hourly wages for a counselor in WISD. Mrs. Freeman then goes on to enlighten me about the rewards, challenges, demands and frustrations of a school counselor.
One outcome was that guidance counselors became responsive to day-to-day wishes of their school administration and were more likely to be identified with them” (p. 21). The identity of a guidance counselor was unclear before the identity of a school counselor. The guidance counselor profession was not a specialized occupation, but fell under the profession of administration. Because of the baby boom in the 1960s, education in counseling began. The American School Counseling Association (ASCA) and Association for Counselors Education and Supervision (ACES) initiated developing and promoting standards for training school counselors that emphasized counseling theory and practicum training (Baker & Gerler, p. 22). The training consists of learning skills in one-to one counseling relationship. The decade of the 1960s, attempted to educate people in school counseling, but was unsuccessful to form a clear uniqueness of a school counselor. Without the transparent knowledge that guidance is under the umbrella of a school counselor profession, the perception of a unified identify of a school counselor is difficult to achieve. The struggles in history about understanding the occupation of a school counselor continue in modern day.
How important are these roles and functions in the development of our children, our future? This essay seeks to outline the major roles and functions of a guidance counsellor in our Jamaica school setting and also to examine some of the factors which negatively impact the guidance counsellor in his or her quest towards fulfilling these roles.