Changes Impression

Wow, you really don't know someone's situation until you walk in their shoes; or at least talk to them and get their perspective. What a stressful responsiblity these guidance counselors hold in their hands. I think my first impressions were on the right track but in the totally wrong direction!

Guidance counselors assume so much more than I ever imagined. They not only have the present and future career paths of students in their hands, they have to deal with the mental, emotional and familial problems and concerns as well. And the sheer number of students they are responsible for is mind numbing.

I understand now how their time is so limited that worrying about the CTAE classes that a student should take is not high on their priority list. After talking with a counselor at length and discussing that only 30% of high school students actually attend a 4 yr. college, I was encouraged to see that she was much more receptive to any suggestions that I had to reaching these students earlier in their academic life to help them get headed in the right direction.

I decided that if our high school was really going to see an improvement on students being more selective in their choices of CTAE classes, that I would have to come up with some valid and legitimate suggestions (with implementation processes) to present to our counselors and administration. It is not that the counselors don't want to help, it's just that like most of us they are spread too thin.