Final Post

1.      Describe how you used the course blog.

I used the course blog’s of classmates to better understand different prospectives; different ways of viewing the same issues.

2.      What has your experience been with the course blog?

I still dislike blogging, but understand that it can be a useful tool. Others can see what we have written and use it to either work out their own problems or as a stepping stone to help them be able to reach out to us for help.

o    What about this experience stands out for you?

When you write something it gives you a chance to read it later and really think about what you have written, sort of like Freud’s making the unconscious, conscience, so to speak. One thought leads to another.

o    Did anything in particular or anyone connected with the experience stand out for you?

Eric had the clearest pictures I have ever seen.

3.      What feelings were generated by the experience?

Feelings? Sorry, no feelings…

4.      What thoughts stand out for you?

That given a group working with a specific topic, a blog could be a great thing. Each member has the option of speaking or not without feeling pressure from others. Sometimes people can open up better when not face to face with a group.

5.      Are you aware of any changes in thinking while using the course blog?

Change is a necessary part of life; people change and grow in their thinking every day, sometimes without even realizing it. Just because there are no huge changes to write about at this time, that doesn’t mean that there are not changes.

o    How were your personal values and assumptions influenced?

Doing the blog I can’t think of any personal value changes but during the work in the high school, I realized just how badly the kids need guidance. Even though they are nearly adults, the need for adult attention is greater than ever. I talked to a student that I had taught in middle school and he was so starved for adult attention that he hung on every work I said to him. He talked about things that we had covered in middle school and small compliments that I had given him. Things that I didn’t even remember saying. It made me realize just how important it is to treat every child with respect; treat them like you want other people to treat your own kids.

o    Did the blog enhance reflection, if so how?

Not really

6.      What did you like about the blogging experience?

I, personally, am not a blogger and probably never will be, but I will offer the option of blogging to students I work with for certain topics. Kids today have grown with blogging and feel comfortable about blogging about every subject but they will need a moderator to ensure that the forum is kept civil.

7.      What was challenging for you about the blogging experience.

In the beginning there were a few bugs that had to be worked out, but nothing that was too difficult.

8.      If you could make some suggestions about using the blog in a future course, what would you suggest?

Students should be given the option of doing a blog or posting stuff on BB.

9.      Have you shared everything that is significant with reference to the experience? If not, what would you add?

Nothing to add

Counseling Reflection

I liked the elementary part of my practicum counseling a lot better than the high school part. In the elementary I was able to work with the kids themselves.  I prefer older kids, but the work with them was mostly scheduling and college counseling. There was one thing I didn't understand though. The counselor at the high school told a student that he would have no problem getting in the Navy, even though he had several discipline issues, truancy, on drugs for mood altering disorders among other things. There is no way he qualified for the Navy, but I supposed it made her life easier to just tell him what he wanted to hear. I am opposed to lying it kids about stuff like this and think they should be told the facts-if they want something out of life, they have to put something in. Counselors bend over backwards to assist students but they need to do their part too.

One of my strengths is to not take myself too seriously. I know who I am and can take a joke without taking it personally. I honestly love talking to people and trying to help them solve their own issues. I think ongoing learning, both inside and outside a classroom is essential to being a good counselor. Life skills certainly go a long way.

My thinking hasn't really  changed all that much since I began the counseling program. I still feel people need to take responsibility for their lives and I will be there to help them if they want it.  No counselor can insist some one take responsibility, only offer guidance and assistance.

Bullying and suicide

With more and more kids committing suicide because of bullies it is so important to be aware of ways to help them deal with the pressures of school life. Kids need more than a pat on the back telling them it will be all right because for a lot of kids it is not going to be all right unless there is an actual plan to attach the bullies, change their outlook, and help them understand just how harmful their actions are. Here is one link to help in the fight. There are many more available-I just like this one. Dealing With Bullying

Amanda Todd made a YouTube video just before she committed suicide; she was 15. In another part of this blog I posted a video about another 15 year old who had had enough and snapped on a bully that had been tormenting him for years. He picked the bully up and body slammed him on the ground; effectively stopping the bullying problems and gaining a measure of self respect. I don't advocate violence as a way to stop bullies, but handling it the way Casey did was the only way he saw to stop the abuse. Telling didn't help, talking didn't help, adults had failed to help. Both boys were suspended for three days, but the support Casey received for the way he handled the bullies sent a message to the other bullies in the school, so all the victims in the school benefited from his actions.

Perception is everything

We each view the world according to our own values, so when dealing with clients we have to put aside our ideas and see the world from their viewpoint. These jokes were taken from the Readers Digest website.

Ivy League Music

A month after Donald MacDonald started at Harvard, his mother called from Scotland. "And how are the American students, Donald?" she asked.

"They’re so noisy," he complained. "One neighbor endlessly bangs his head against the wall, while another screams all night."

"How do you put up with it?"

"I just ignore them and play my bagpipes."

Plagiarism

At a planning meeting at my college, I congratulated a colleague on producing some superb student-guidance notes explaining how to combat plagiarism.

"How long did it take you to write them?" I asked.

"Not long," he said. "I copied them from another university’s website."

Counseling Experience

The first part of my practicum was great. I worked in an elementary school with a great supervisor. I enjoy working with younger kids and hope to get a position in an elementary school.  I think the reason I liked it a lot better than the high school is that most of the day is spent in direct contact with the students. The counselor at the high school was very competent and helpful,  but it seemed that 90% of her time was spent on testing and correlating results from the testing. Students were seen in between meetings and when they were allowed to come in, there was a steady line needing to be seen. I don't mind paperwork, but it seems that there needs to be a person to handle the paper and a counselor to work with the students.

One of the things about high school that really bothers me is the amount of bullying that goes on among the students. I was just reading an article about a special needs transfer student who was being bullied until her mother went to a friends son to ask if he knew who was bullying her daughter. The boy turned out to become the girls friend and convinced the entire football team to protect the girl. If you would like to read the article  the address is: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/arizona-student-special-needs-avoids-bullies-protection-football-112516229.html

Continued Professional Development

There are several ways I plan to continue advancing as a professional. I have been looking into website that offers seminars in different cities. Some are at site and some are live pod casts. There was one that I was particularly interested in. It is a three day conference, held annually, that covers all manner of trauma.

If I am unable to get away at the time of the seminaries, books are always available. Something else that interested me was a 12 DVD set for $249.00 that covered Psychological Trauma: Neuroscience, Attachment and Interventions. A book I thought might be interesting is Traumatic Stress, The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body and Society.

A more experienced counselor might help guide the development of a beginning counselor in ways to best develop more professionally. Developing connections with other counselors is a necessity because counselors do not stand alone but are part of a much larger organization.

Cyberbullying

People have the idea that because no one sees them doing something it is hidden, but what the young people  that cyberbully don’t seem to realize is that every computer, cell phone or any other device connected to the internet has its own particular IP address and anything they say or do can be traced directly back to them. Dr. Kimberly Mason has prepared and posted one of the best jpegs I have seen on Cyberbullying. It can be found at:  http://www.schoolcounselor.org/rc_files/574/ASCA_2007_cyberbullying%20-%20Kim%20mason.pdf

This jpeg covers everything from the definition of Cyberbullying to seven ways to prevent it in the schools. She includes a breakdown of statistics between the cyberbully by sex and age. Interestingly 85% of Cyberbullying occurred at home. She points out that most Cyberbullying is done because of lack of empathy skills. I recently read an article in National Geographic, (Oct. 2011) written by David Dobbs. In the article he explains the results of a study performed by the National Institutes of Health that shows that between the 12^th and 25^th years of life the human brain does not literally grow, but develops many more dendrites that lead to more complicated thinking. It is this connection that allows the teenager to develop ethics, altruism, and then empathy. Some teenagers haven’t yet developed the ability to put themselves in others places and understand the hurtfulness and consequences of Cyberbullying.