Continued Learning as a Professional

I think that my future endeavors in the world of counseling will be similar to my experiences as a teacher.  Everyone has the initial stage in a new position in which you feel like you are not prepared to accomplish your daily tasks.  You feel overwhelmed and ill-trained in a new setting.  After a few years when you feel as though you know what you are doing, you realize that you never get to a point where you know it all.  Classes are always different and new strategies and theories are always be introduced. One either becomes a life-long learner or gets left behind, stuck in a state of complacency and accomplishing little of importance.  When I began the counseling program a few years ago, I knew that I wanted to be a school counselor.  Now that I am nearing graduation, I'm not sure that I'm ready to leave the classroom and my students.  

When the time does come that I leave the classroom for the counseling office, I plan to continue my professional growth by surrounding myself with good people that I can continually learn from, both in the field of counseling and outside.  I will be active in counseling associations, as I am now with my content area as a teacher to keep myself updated.  Our district has a counseling cadre of that meets monthly for all the counselors in different buildings to meet and share.  I think this sounds like a great idea to get feedback from professionals that have different experiences and insights.  And most important, even if I not in the classroom, I hope to keep my finger on the pulse of my student body.  In my practicum experience, I've seen how overwhelmed and overworked counselors can be.  Counselors are often given tasks to complete that reduce the amount of direct time they spend with students.  I plan to make my biggest priority the interests and needs of the student body that I will be serving as a counselor.