Rewards and Challenges

I get the opportunity to work with some at-risk students being a CTAE teacher where historically some "challenged students" typically are funneled to in a course like construction. It's from this experience that I think I can draw some insights that a counselor may face.

I think counselors could find great satisfaction if they can have a hand in assisting and student and/or their parents turning that students academic career, and ultimately their life into a positive direction. With students living in such a immediate gratification society filled with a wide choice of multi-media distractions presenting new challenges for today's students. It's because of these distractions that our counselors fill such a key role, and it's also easy to understand the reward they must feel when they teach students how to balance and prioritize the academic demands of our high school curriculum.

It's my opinion that it much be very challenging for counselors when they can't ultimately reach a student and/or their family is such a way that yields the type of positive results the counselor hoped for. Our counselors likely chose the profession because they take an insterest in investing into other people's lives and I think it would especially be challenging to invest their efforts into an individual onlyto have it not payoff. The challenge would only get bigger when they are forced to move on from, or move beyond the failure of helping certain individuals reach certain goals.