This site is a class blog space for new Career and Technical Specializations and Heathcare Science teachers enrolled in the New Teacher Institute (NTI) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Rewards and Challenges
I think the greatest reward of a guidance counselor is when they have the ability to see the fruit of their labor. Many times the seeds that they plant don't show growth until a student has grown-up, graduated or moved along. When the "at risk" student gets the job, or the scholarship, or the rescue from a dangerous environment, that's when a guidance counselor can know that their job was successful, and I think that is what they find most rewarding. I think the most challenging aspect of their job comes with the frustration of not having the time to meet the individual needs of students. I believe their goal is to really give personalized guidance and they are pulled in so many different directions that it is almost impossible to spend the time needed to offer guidance and direction in a meaningful manner. It must be very frustrating to know there are needs and also know that some of those needs will go unmet because there are only so many hours in a day.
Sherri, I could not agree with you more. Frankly, most people who enter a career in service really want nothing more than to see the fruits of their labor. What I have learned about teaching is nothing is more important than to see one of your students come back to visit you after graduation and tell you how great they are doing. I have only taught one year, but I have students that I taught last year or last semester that just drop by my class to say hello even though I no longer teach them. I know how much I appreciated my counselor because had it not been for her, I would not have been able to complete a college or financial aid application. I was the only person in my family at that point to have attended college and I really needed her help. I wish that counselors could be allotted more time, specific time on a weekly basis just to spend time with the students to find out what their needs are, what their aspirations and goals are. The setting could be lite refreshments around a round table or individual time, either way I know that the students that we serve in the inner city and impoverished areas would really benefit from this type of service.
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