Career Guidance in our Schools?
Each is divinely unique…
I can’t tell you how often I hear people speak about the inadequate, if not non-existent¬†”guidance counseling” in our schools.¬†¬†I just heard another story today!¬† In my time as a teacher, I could see that¬†there was something lacking, that not much at all had changed since my high school days when the foremost experience of¬†our so-called guidance counselor was that she walked the halls a lot holding a cup of coffee.¬† So naturally, my first thought was to blame the staff person placed in that somehow vague position of guidance.¬† I mean, it’s an official program, there has to be a job description attached to¬†the role, so what is the problem?
What I¬†find is that these folks do not have the time to¬†do a proper job, given the numbers of students and the fragmented time they have remaining after addressing ancillary duties, assigned to them by superiors who need to respond to a variety of demands.¬†¬†It just does not matter that¬†those assignments¬†are¬†not in their job description or that “guidance” is sacrificed.¬†¬†Something’ s got to give and the smart kids know where they want to go, anyway–they’ll find their way once they get to their campus.
Today, while I no longer blame  guidance counselors for not doing their jobs (as I define it, I guess), I do believe that at minimum they need to be resourceful enough to help parents help their children.  There are many professionals out there, me included, who have a desire to guide children in doing work that is meaningful to them.  To discover where it is they are best suited.   We can act in an adjunct capacity or entirely independent but the point is that we are here.
If counselors can step up in this way, it can be a wonderful gift to busy parents wanting the best for their child.  We can only imagine how appreciative they might be, knowing that before they spend a great deal of money educating their child, they have an assurance that they have done everything possible so that in the end, their child will be happy and fulfilled, doing work that ties directly to their unique needs.
About the author, Saleh
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