Counseling Interview Paper

Counselor Interview PaperJessica Peacock I plan on going into the School Counseling field, so for my interview I went to a long time family friend Kay Weems. Kay is a school counselor currently at Madison Station Elementary, but she has 19 years of experience at different levels of education in counseling and in different environments as well. She also was an elementary teacher for 10 years prior to becoming a school counselor. Kay went to school at Mississippi State and received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a minor in special education. She went on to obtain her masters degree in special education.After school she taught at the elementary level for ten years so she has plenty of experience with children ages 5-11. When she had her only daughter Aubrey, she decided to get her master’s certificate for guidance counseling and then went back to work as a guidance counselor. This year is her first year counseling at the elementary level, but previous yea rs she did high school two years and middle school 16 years in several different environments. When I asked Kay’s perspective on the purpose of the school counseling profession she said that she feels as though she makes an impact on children’s lives every day.Her goal is to help children achieve academic, personal, as well as social success in the school environment. She provides individual counseling to students, as well as referrals for students to community support or for students that may need additional help in the classroom or academic testing. When I asked her about the demands of her job, she took a second to think about it, I imagine situations running through her head when she struggled with a child or a child’s family. She admitted that working with a child’s parent can be very difficult.She explained parent’s often times want to believe their child is perfect and perfectly happy, so when a counselor has to sit down parents and inform t hem something is wrong with their child many times the response from parents isn’t pleasant. Another struggle was dealing with abused children; she described that as â€Å"gut-wrenching†. Often times it is hard for her to leave stuff like that at work. She said that the best way to cope with those situations is to know that no matter what, every single day you have done your very best to get that child out of the bad situation that they are in.Before I interviewed Kay, I asked her about working with culturally diverse, and/or underrepresented children and she said that in her 19 years of counseling she has worked an abundance of both of these groups. She said that each time you work with a child of a culture that you are not extremely familiar with, you often times learn something new. It is a learning process she said. But when I mentioned underrepresented children she started to tell me about a group of kids that had experienced a very tragic trauma before them.She t old me of a Friday she found out she would be sent to Pearl High School on the next Monday to counsel to kids the next school day after the first school shooting in America. She explained that she had no idea what to tell these children, or how to answer there question, â€Å"Will the killer show up again at school with a gun? † These children had lost their friends and peers right before their eyes. She did her best and learned a lot about counseling children who have experienced extreme trauma.She made an effort to revisit these children that had been affected through a year period and counsel them. She said often times when situations like this happen, the children that witnessed these murders of their friends in their own school get left without the proper help they need. When I asked Kay about ethics in her job, she said it really comes down to having the best interest of the students at all time. It is important to know your job description and be able to explain it to parents as well as to a child that may not understand in adult language what you do.Always, let your students know limitations up front as well as the counselor-student relationship. We talked about the staff structure, but Kay, like most school counselors, is the only one at her school. She works close with teachers, office staff, and the school nurse as well. She said she personally likes being the only counselor in her setting. I do know that at many high schools in the regional area there are as many as four school counselors in one school. I asked Kay about her knowledge of current global issues, and she only mentioned cyber bullying.She said that there are so many problems with kids being bullied over the internet out of school and it is causing problems inside the school. She said that this has definitely become more prominent in the past five years and fears how much worse it can get. She didn’t mention any global issues other than that though. Kay has improved many m ore lives than she has told me about but what she has told me has amazed me. She has a love for helping children and that is such a gift.When I look at the profession I think that the rewards outweigh the struggles and I am excited to see what this career path has for me in life. I have always wanted to work in the school district just as my mom does. While talking with Kay I could easily see the passion she had for this career, it seems as though she wakes up liking to go to work unlike many people in the world today. I have learned a lot talking to her and would be interested in sitting in with her one day while she does her daily work as a school counselor.

Characterisation in the Castaway Essay

Tagore’s The Castaway basically pivots around Kiran, Sharat’s wife, and Nilkanta, the shipwrecked orphan who formerly was a young actor too. Although Satish, Sharat’s younger brother, entered into the scenario later it was he who brought the twist in the course of the story. Despite the number of main characters in the story being four, they were sharp in contrast. The attitude and demeanour of both Sharat and Satish were quite harsh towards Nilkanta who, on the other hand, was pampered by Kiran. Kiran was the cynosure of all eyes of her family members. She was a jovial, amiable, caring and sensitive lady. The loneliness of the riverside villa at Chandernagore where she had come to recover from an illness was haunting her and she was eagerly looking for some sort of companionship. The solitude of the place was stifling the cheerful, joyous nature of Kiran and this shows a kind of conflict. Fortunately for her this conflict got resolved as Nilkanta, the shipwrecke d came into her life and she not only looked after him with utmost care but also spoiled him with profound affection and sympathy. Besides giving him sufficient food to eat and dress to wear, she also gives him freedom to come to her room. Moreover, she also had a great liking for Nilkanta’s recitation and singing. In addition to that the tragic account of his former days with the theatrical troupe made her even more caring and protective about him. She started enjoying his company. But the arrival of Satish drifted her attention away from Nilkanta and gradually he (Nilkanta) started feeling isolated and ignored and this is what unknowingly hurt him, bruised his tender mind. The biggest inner conflict that Kiran felt was at the juncture of time when she discovered the theft of the ink stand, done by Nilkanta. She was shell shocked. Her affection for Nilkanta was conflicted with the discovery of the act of stealing. The more affection Kiran showered upon Nilkanta the more he began to be disliked by Sharat though he was afraid to say anything to his wife. There is no denying of the fact that Nilkanta went w ayward and became insolent to some extent. He started taking too much of liberty by smoking Sharat’s hookah, by using his silk umbrella and he even went on to bring a mongrel which spoilt Sharat’s spotless bed with its dirty paws. To add to this Nilkanta became the leader of the local truant lads who used to pluck mangoes from the trees of the neighbours even before they were ripe. Sharat often punished him for all his mischief by boxing his ears. He was annoyed at Nilkanta and did not  know how to handle him without causing anger to his wife. Despite his annoyance at Nilkanta, Sharat could not take any stern step against him because his wife shielded and pampered the insolence and disobedience of Nilkanta. Things began to change completely as Satish, the younger brother of Sharat, arrived. Kiran had a friendly relationship with her brother-in-law Satish. She shifted her attention from Nilkanta to Satish and this created a sense of insecurity, unhappiness in the adolescent mind of Nilkanta who, consequently, began to feel jealous of Satish. The indifference of Kiran towards Nilkanta made him feel that the cocoon of the caring family was no more with him. From the very outset Satish was against Nilkanta whom he considered to be an intruder. When Nilkanta broke out in tears listening to the news of their imminent departure from that villa Satish non-chalantly said that much like an opportunist he was weeping to soften the mind of Kiran. Nilkanta before the entry of Satish was a completely different fellow than Nilkanta after his entry. The energetic, agile, spirited self of the boy was replaced by a morose, insecured one who took Satish as his biggest enemy. Not being able to torment Satish directly he let out his anger and hatred surreptitiously by stealing a beautiful ink stand. He did it in a moment of frenzy without realizing the outcome of it. His possessiveness towards Kiran was the reason behind his act of theft. Although Nilkanta was saved by Kiran from the ignominy of being found out as the thief, it was she who eventually discovered the ink stand in his box. The situation became even more poignant as Nilkanta watched her discovering the ink stand in his box. This moment brought the biggest conflict in the mind of Nilkanta. He neither realized that she had actually opened his box to give him the parting gifts nor was ready to accept the stigma of being a thief cast upon him by his own Kiran. Thus being mentally shattered he left Chandernagore forever with heavy heart without giving anyone any clue about hi s sudden and mysterious departure.

The Impact of September 11 Attacks on the US Foreign Policy Research Paper

The Impact of September 11 Attacks on the US Foreign Policy - Research Paper Example This paper is basically an effort to describe the very important political event of September 11 attacks in relation to the influence it exerted on America’s foreign policy and international relations. The paper also discusses myriad ways by which US had to transform its international relations and alter foreign policy decisions according to the theories of international politics. On the morning of September 11, four commercial US airlines were hijacked by some 19 hijackers who were believed to be associated with Al-Qaeda and two of those hijacked jets were intentionally flown into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center. The third plane got crashed into the ground due to the angry passengers’ involvement and the last plane was deliberately flown into the important building of Pentagon. As a result, thousands of people died and many got badly injured for life. Most of the people who died from the attacks happened to be innocent civilians and a minority belo nged to the military forces who ran to the attacked places to save the public. The impact zones where planes hit the North and South Towers made it virtually impossible for anyone above and below the impact zones to make an escape from the buildings, rather many hundreds of people got trapped in the poisonous fumes and dust and died of smoke inhalations after remaining entrapped for terribly long hours. However, the South Tower got attacked after the North Tower which is why significantly lesser casualties were reported in this tower as the military officials started evacuating the building immediately after the first tower got struck. US also changed economically a lot as the destruction of the towers cast serious and irreparable damage to the economy of the busy area of lower Manhattan as a result of which seriously bad and devastating influence was exerted in the global markets and ultimately it all culminated in global economic recession. US economic recession was also fomented to a large extent by the practice of investing many billions of dollars in the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq under Bush administration. Prior to attacks, the approach taken by Washington concerning the rest of the world was relatively unfocused and it became definitely very much focused after attacks. America really had no significant thoughts nor any decisions were made about other countries as the Cold War has already ended a decade earlier and also victory was bagged by US in the Cold War as the enemy in the form of Soviet Union got defeated which had earlier on managed to give a focus to Washington’s approach to the world. Post 9/11, this focus again shifted but this time the influence produced happened to be long-term and much more demanding, tiring, and exhausting for both US government and public than ever before. US took these attacks made on September 11 as a threat to not only US law, order and peace but a serious menace to global law and order which is why the important officials sat together and with agreement launched a very extensive War on Terror by first invading Afghanistan and later Iraq to combat against the Taliban belonging to Al-Qaeda and defeat them. Most of the Taliban resided in

The Implications of Downsizing (Rightsizing) to the Employees, Research Paper

The Implications of Downsizing (Rightsizing) to the Employees, Communities, and Families of the Employees - Research Paper Example    Downsizing exposes the employees, communities, and the families of employees to psychological, emotional, and physical distress whether they remain employed or get fired. Generally speaking, the implications of downsizing include embarrassment, lack of the source of income, depression, low self-esteem, emotional abuse, social exclusion, and poverty.   I shall also identify the relative importance of the three kinds of stressors, so that the most significant, the significant, and the least significant stressors are identified separately. The expected outcome of the result is a list of contributors of psychological, emotional, and physical distress for the identified populations, along with the relative importance of each category of stressors. Knowledge of these stressors is the preliminary step towards the identification of the potential ways in which the effect of these stressors can be reduced. ... The first challenge in front of these employees is to seek employment somewhere else. Since they have not left the organization on their own and have rather been fired, this serves as a very negative point if the employees cannot somehow manage to prove that they left the organization on their own. The recruiters tend to suspect the eligibility of such employees for the job because they were rejected by their previous employers. Downsizing is mostly a consequence of the deteriorating political and socioeconomic conditions in a country, so when one organization downsizes, most of the other organizations are also doing the same. Finding a job in these circumstances becomes even more difficult for the employees. The process of searching for the job is not only physically tiring but is also emotionally demanding as one has to face the high expectations of the friends and family members who depend financially on one with no job in hand. The second challenge in front of the unemployed empl oyee is the constant feeling of embarrassment in front of the friends and family members. Owing to the shortage of money, it is not very uncommon for one to decline to the level that one has to ask friends for money, which in itself is a very embarrassing process, and often the loan is not granted without interest that puts the individual into an even greater financial stress for the time to come. The employees have to meet the daily needs in an increasingly tough environment wherein the prices of things are skyrocketing. All of these factors mutually function to negatively affect the individual’s health and psychology.  Ã‚  

Systems of governance and authority Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Systems of governance and authority - Essay Example This resulted in significant losses among the European nations, both economically and politically, that had controlled resources in the Americas. The European countries ventured in Africa with a desire to maintain their wealth and political power. They promoted this new form of imperialism as a â€Å"moral obligation to civilize† the African communities (Louis, 2006). They also justified their entry and scramble for Africa with views such as seeking new markets and accessing resources for their newly formed industries. However, the main underlying reason for colonization of Africa was to seize the opportunity to demonstrate political and economic superiority over their rivals. Different countries used different approaches in exerting their influence on the African continent. The British used indirect rule while the French implemented the assimilation policy. The Belgians and Germans, on the other hand, used cruelty to maintain their control over African communities they ruled (Louis, 2006). Regardless of the tactics used, however, the hegemony over the African continent would only last a few generations before independ ence movements and revolutions emerged to help Africans regain control of their continent. Most of the communities in Africa reacted angrily to the control of the Europeans. Many of them rejected the colonial rule from the very onset. In Nigeria, for instance, the British Empire took over the region and exerted its control over the local communities. The Western African region the British took over was made up of different communities, some of which had their own leadership structures (Louis, 2006). Modern countries such as Nigeria, Benin, and Cameroun did not exist at the time the British gained control of the massive area in West Africa around River Niger. The British tried to bring the different communities together under one rule and one structure of governance. This move was met with great resistance,

Introduction to decision making slp Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Introduction to decision making slp - Assignment Example My direct manager is a low level manager who is in charge of the employees and manages them. He makes operational decisions in the company which are small and deal with the day to day running of the low level affairs in the company. His main role is to report the needs and requirements of the employees to his manager. He is also in charge of the office supplies and his duty is to ensure that the supplies are enough in the office, well distributed, and that each employee maintains (Nutt & Wilson, 2010). His direct manager makes tactical decision and acts as a bridge between my manager and the senior level manager. He handles policy proposals on new products, new technology or new marketing tools. He then hands over the proposals and products to the senior level managers who then make the implementation. He sometimes acts as the human resource manager handling the problems of employees that are minute and do not require the attention of the senior managers. At the very top are senior managers who make strategic decisions which change the direction of affairs within the company and outside. Their decisions are influenced by both internal and external environment. They also work hand in hand with tactical manager to implement the product and project proposals, test new theories and technologies as well as liaise with other companies and the media in case announcements need to be made. The strategic managers are the face of the company as they are the known parties. 2. Give some specific examples of both programmed and non-programmed decisions that you have observed. Give at least one example of each type of decision, and explain why you think this decision falls into this category with references to the background materials. Programmed decisions are those that have been made severally until there is a clear guideline on what steps to take in order to make the decisions. These decisions can be passed down from one

Literature Review About Depression and African-American high-school Essay

Literature Review About Depression and African-American high-school students - Essay Example Living with their predecessors’ legacy of being racially discriminated and historically exploited and abused by the White people may have left generational scars in their psyche, that even up to now, being Black in an urban setting remains to be an issue. Many social scientists, politicians, and the media tend to paint a bleak picture for youth living in predominantly Black urban settings in this country (Barbarin, 1993). Poverty, academic failure, early death due to poor health care and violence, drug abuse and addiction, high unemployment rates, teenage pregnancy, gangs, and high crime rates are some of the conditions highlighted to describe the state of the urban underclass in which children must develop and attempt to survive (Dryfoos, 1990; Halpern, 1990; Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990; Werner, 1990). Several researches have been done to explore the effects of such racial differences in the African American youth. During adolescent period, individuals are confronted with the necessity of effectively managing the psychological, emotional, and behavioral adjustments to physiological changes and the assumption of new roles within the family structure, the high school setting, and ones peer group (Stark, Spirito, Williams, & Buevremont, 1989). According to a recent report from the United States (US) Census Bureau (2001), African Americans currently comprise nearly 13% of the total US population. Over one-half of all African Americans in the US live in large urban areas, and more than 35% of African Americans under age 18 live in poverty (US Census Bureau, 1999). These figures suggest that African Americans are over-represented among the poor urban school-aged population. Because of environmental factors stemming from living in poverty (e.g., unemployment and exposure to crime and violence), researchers and educators have often applied the term "at risk" in reference to urban African American

Human-wk7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human-wk7 - Essay Example I would think that educators would help students identify goals for their education. As an example, students may want to set a goal that would bring them a better life. They may see this type of gal as long-term and may find another way to identify shorter term goals but they may first need to be exposed to education that helps them identify what they want. Self-regulation comes into play as children would reflect on their wants and needs. Reeve (2009) suggests that this happens as people begin to define goals and work towards them. As they begin to move towards their goals, they also begin to identify whether the goals they have set are working or need to be changed. In educating teens, I would think that educators would also set goals for what they wanted children to learn. Reeve also talks about self-regulation as a skill that must be developed. I would facilitate self-regulation with teens by exposing them to people from Liberia who had set goals and realized them. Plans-- my plans were to begin my Masters and continue it once I began. I think my plan was too big at the time because I did not take into consideration that raising a family and working full time would be difficult. Goals -- I set several goals in my head but I never wrote them down. I wanted a Masters degree because I felt it would bring more money but it was too difficult trying to do school, work full time and take care of my family. Smaller goals would have been better and would have stopped me from feeling so overwhelmed. Personal strivings--I always wanted a Masters degree in counseling because I wanted to help people. I wanted the goal to be completed quickly and I thought I could do it while working full time. I was not able to do it in that way. Implementation intention -- I did not have a specific plan for my Masters degree. I only wanted to have one. If I had set specific goals for completion like I have now, I may have been

Nursing Implication for Teenage Pregnancy Essay

Nursing Implication for Teenage Pregnancy - Essay Example The paper "Nursing Implication for Teenage Pregnancy" talks about the problem of teenage pregnancy in the US which is having the highest incidence of teen pregnancy though the rate is declining everywhere. Probably ongoing sex education and improved accessibility to condoms have helped to get it down. Young parents and kids usually have a severe impact on their lives sacrificing education, career, and most importantly health. This essay gives detail information regarding statistical facts of teen pregnancy state wise information along with the implication of nursing. A teen can also have a healthy pregnancy if she is able to detect pregnancy on time and receive pre and post natal care promptly. The importance of prenatal and postnatal care education is understood in the essay as in teen pregnancy cases chances of getting preterm labor with low birth weight babies are higher. Young mothers are provided with genuine support by healthcare system along with parenting classes and counseli ng. Parenting is a tough task for every individual and it is indeed very difficult if the parents are teenagers. Teenage pregnancy has become a major issue of concern for almost all the western countries. Incidences of teen pregnancy are rising in the US too and teens are battling to establish child-friendly situations in their lives. Teens are not the only sufferer but their children also face frequent health problems in future. These pregnancies are usually unplanned and are not pleasant phenomena to the society.