09/11/09

It was not a very pleasant day today at my internship. The minute the kids arrived, they started acting up. A few of them were sat down immediately. One of them by the other intern. The kid picked up a butter knife for no reason whatsoever. He was told to put it down, but did not want to listen. I sat one of them down. I ordered him to sit up straight and move his feet off of the couch. He decided to test me and only moved his feet off of the couch. I told him to either listen to me or go sit down. For some odd reason, he chose to sit down. When I spoke with him before letting him back up, I told him that I expect him and the others to listen to me and do something when I tell them to do it. My supervisor had also sat down a couple of kids when he arrived from picking the kids up from school.

At about a half an hour before I left supervisor, the other intern, and I had a meeting. We discussed the issues of what the schools think about us and our reputation in the community. To be honest with you, we have been known not to have a good reputation in the community. Their mindset is that all the bad kids go here. I say that we do not have any bad kids. They are just looking for support and direction in their life. As I have said before, a lot of these kids do not have a very good home life and nowhere else to go that will teach them structure and discipline while also giving them the opportunity have fun. He spoke to both the middle school counselor and principal. Neither one had heard any good reviews from the kids. One of the things we are going to try to improve on is our disciplinary methods. Instead of just sitting them down all the time, we might try giving them a suspension or something of that nature.

Having a bad day today has not affected my decision to become a school counselor. I am not about to give up on this goal. I now realize more than ever that I am needed. It is my duty to take a stand for these kids and give them a chance at some great opportunities in life. They include making it through to the next grade, graduating from high school, and helping them get into college and get the financial aid that they might need.