BJ BURNS

Today, I went and seen BJ Burns over at the elementary school and it was a very relaxed day. We discussed the Senior Project and what it's all about and she even got a chance to check out my blog. She was interested to hear about some of my classmates ideas and career goals so I led her to some of their blogs as well. Speaking to her about the senior project made me realize how involved this class really is and how lucky I am to go to other schools to see what counseling has to offer as a career.

Along with the senior project comes a couple papers in between. I mentioned the research paper coming up and to my surprise, she has some experience with art therapy. She gave me some ideas on how to start off my paper. Now, all I have to do is look up the history of art therapy and all types of things it is used for and I'm golden! For the 45 minute presentation at the end of the year, she said that her and I have permission to tape a little session with the kids (a fake one, of course!) and I can use it in my presentation! I am really looking foward to the rest of the year as far as the senior project goes.

The Media

It has been said over and over again that the media has a huge affect on it's viewers, specifically the younger ones. I mentioned in one of my previous blogs that Mrs. Burns had a talk with a group of boys over in the elementary school to see what they thought of the whole domestic violence issue with Chris Brown and Rihanna. It is obvious that elementary school children are more likely to pay attention to things that their idols do and follow their behavior. Nobody would really expect the Middle school or High school to take after this violent behavior, or would they? It is found that in poverty stricken areas, children mostly look up to athletes or celebrities, while wealthier or upper middle class children look up to their parents, teachers, doctors, etc. There is nothing wrong with finding a role model but what happens when Little Billy finds out his role model has allegedly hit his girlfriend. To Billy, this behavior may be percieved as acceptable. Chris Brown did it, why can't he?

One of my teachers, here at the high school, witnessed a male-female altercation and this undoubtedly worried some of the advisors in the school. He explained to them that although we are older, the media still does have it's effects on us and that our school needs to make sure that students do not follow this behavior. An assembly on domestic violence is being taken into consideration and I agree with the idea 110%. Along with the music lyrics, radio station talk shows, movies, magazines, and television shows, celebrity drama has an affect on the viewers and listeners. We are in a world where violence, sex, drugs, and profanity is more than acceptable. We are being desensitized day by day by being surrounded by this mess.

Helping people move on...

Since I have started working on my outline, I found some new facts about art therapy. People who choose art therapy as a profession specialize in both art and therapy. They know art techniques as well as human development and psychological theories. It helps people overcome trauma , illness, or people who seek personal development. Art is their own way to release all their feelings and emotions into a 2D or 3D masterpiece. This helps patients cope with stress and also increase self-awareness as well as the awareness of people around them. Well, when I find some more info, I'll holla :)

NJ After 3

As most of you know, I work for EIRC NJ After 3 program at the Middle School. The kids here are wonderful. Although it is tough sometimes trying to get them to behave, they are great to work with. The middle school is full of personality and talent. Observing the students is very entertaining and my days go by fast working here. I can learn a lot about people by noticing their habits and different ways they handle situations. All I know is middle school is D-R-A-M-A city! There is conflict with he said-she said at all times. If I were to become a counselor for a middle school, I would have a handful to deal with! It seems like everything around me is beginning to connect with my project and this class. From my psychology lessons and peer mediations to an after school program- I'm always learning new things that can relate to counseling.

Back At It

Unfortunately, I have not gotten the chance to blog since last week but I am back and ready to blog again. So, yesterday I went to the Middle School and met with Mrs. Rapattoni to join her with a group of boys from a class called ED. ED stands for emotionally dysfunctional (I'm ALMOST positive, lol). This group of boys were supposedly, from what Mrs. Rapattoni told me prior to the meeting, these boys are crazy, loud, and argue constantly! Well, well, well... the three boys surprised both Mrs. Rapattoni and I with their wonderful behavior. It was honestly a pleasure to meet these boys and get a chance to observe them and how they interact with each other. We played the board game, Life. They took turns nicely, helped organize pieces and cards, and refrained from calling each other cheaters. One of the boys even said I could choose what board game to play next week! Hopefully, I can make it down to the Middle School and visit them in their class room.

My Idol

Aside from her remarkable beauty and acting talents, Angelina Jolie has a lot more to offer. She is an ambassador for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) Goodwill where she travels throughout the world to work with refugees and displaced people. She has traveled to Darfur to talk to refugees and young children about the current crisis happening in Africa and also has been to a Bangkok refugee camp. She is very passionate about what she does and it is obvious she cares strongly for children. Ever since I was about 11 years old, I babysat my brothers and baby cousins and I promised myself I would not have any children or work around children when I am older. To my surprise, I find children to be great company and very lively. Although they can sometimes be a pain, I am lucky to spend time with them every single day and learn more and more about them. I hope when I become a social worker or a counselor, I am this passionate about my career and what I do. (I would also love to travel the world!)

School #4

Today, I got to meet the counselor at Lindenwold School #4, Ms.Burns, and she is amazing. She made me feel very welcome in the school and I even got a chance to sit in on a group session with a few young boys who were very lively. She told me it would be entertaining and she was not lying! The topic she presented was domestic violence and the whole Chris Brown and Rihanna situation. Listening to their opinions on the topic was extremely interesting. Gladly, they all agreed that domestic violence is wrong and had some very nice things to say about Chris Brown (not really). Aside from the group session, Ms. Burns told me the difference between high school, middle school, and elementary school- she even gave me a packet of information about each one, which helped me get a better understanding. She told me that she did not get a degree in guidance counseling, that she is a certified social worker, which is something different from what I understand. Before the kids move up to middle school, they need to work on decision making skills and learn that for every action, there's a consequence. While I was looking around her office, I noticed a sign that said something along the lines of "When you __(action)____, I feel ___(emotion)_____ because __(reason)____. Please __(response desired)___." I guess this was a way to help the students address their problems and express their feelings toward certain behaviors. Overall, today was a great experience and I cannot wait to visit the elementary school again!

Confidentiality

American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Position Professional school counselors recognize their primary obligation for confidentiality is to the student but balance that obligation with an understanding of the legal and inherent rights of parents or guardians to be the guiding voice in their children’s lives.

Confidentiality is an important policy when counseling. Although I am not a counselor, I am a peer mediator and we have to keep everything that goes on during the mediation TOP SECRET. Any notes we write have to be thrown away. If you are going to someone to talk to and to get OPTIONS (NOT ADVICE) from, you want to make sure that your business is only between you & your guidance counselor. This privacy policy encourages students to open up to counselors because they will not be fearful about spilling their guts to someone who is going to tell. There are a few exceptions to this policy - if a student is at risk by harming themselves or others. Relationships are very important to build and without trust, there is no relationship.

Art Therapy, For Kids & Adults

What is Art Therapy? Art therapy is a human service profession that uses the creative process as the primary form of expression. Through both verbal and non-verbal modes, art therapy encourages the development of an individual’s creativity as a vehicle for increased self-awareness, personal growth and resolution of emotional conflict. The artistic process, product and subsequent associations are all seen as reflections of the individual as a whole. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fsgbr.org/images/art_therapy_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fsgbr.org/Art_Therapy.html&usg=__pHN2r1PhMF6hctpf9P2ASwtIgy8=&h=2550&w=3344&sz=2662&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=ChMDfEI_tan_-M:&tbnh=114&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dart%2Btherapy%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive

Art Therapy allows people to use metaphoric and symbolic communication.Unconscious or blocked feelings can be assessed in a way that is sometimes less threatening than verbal means alone.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.justkate.com/pics/kinder.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.justkate.com/therapy.html&usg=__9ZuXGDKi1SvZWIvtbnagHmcF73w=&h=265&w=265&sz=27&hl=en&start=27&tbnid=EtPVmpmcIF5_iM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=112&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dart%2Btherapy%26start%3D18%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DN

I believe art therapy works. Although I haven't went to a center and had my art analyzed, I let my emotions show through some of my art. Usually when I am in school, there are many distractions but, for the most part, I go crazy and release all of my energy into my pieces or pictures. I think elementary schools and maybe even middle schools should offer art therapy programs or classes for children who have a hard time expressing their emotions or even their creativity.

Anti-Bullying Policy

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/35950104.html

15 Year old Richard Yanis was charged with attempted murder with a deadly weapon. What was the cause of all of his anger? Guidance counselors have never heard any complaints about Yanis being bullied or picked on in school so as far as the school was concerned, everything was peachy until police got a call about guns and ammunition being stolen. The school went into a panic and searched backpacks and lockers for any signs of deadly weapons but nothing was found. Yanis had planned to hold the shooting off for another year. Richard's plan included murdering everyone he did not like. "Armato said the school keeps track of bullying incidents and had no reports showing that Yanis had been bullied. If Yanis was being bullied, he and his teachers and guidance counselors did not tell administrators about it. In such cases, peer mediation may be used to help, Armato said." (Philly.com) The school might not have been aware but a few students surely were. His neighbor commented that Richard Yanis had been picked on as long as he could remember and that he was an outcast with few friends. A couple more students had also mentioned that Yanis was the butt of everyone's jokes and was always being rejected. If the school did not realize this was going on, why wouldn't any students report the bullying to a counselor. Armato, the school community relations director, mentioned that peer mediation could have resolved this problem a long time ago. It is important to take bullying seriously; If you see a student being bullied too much and sense that something is wrong, TELL SOMEONE. No one wants something like this happen in their school. Even though Richard did not get the chance to go on a shooting spree, doesn't mean that something like this can happen anywhere, even here, in Lindenwold.

.............Procrastination

Here I am, blogging again! Instead of doing my research papers and today's homework, I am spending my time blogging about what I do best- procrastinate! I know that if I ever want to succeed in college and go on to be a guidance counselor, I cannot put off every task until later because when later comes, I am going to have so much pressure on me and one of these days, I just might explode. For anyone out there who has conquered this aweful disease and can lend me some advice or ideas, please do so... and do not procrastinate! I need help, asap. (Although, I am sure that anyone's answer to my problem would be to stop being so darn lazy!)

Overwhelmed... AGAIN!

Okay, so my week has been crazy with all this homework and these research papers due! One of the papers that I am most stressed about is Mr. Maggi's ten-page research paper on how our school addresses poverty through education. In A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Ruby Payne discusses the challenges that people in poverty face when dealing with people in the middle class and upper class as well as the problems people working with others in poverty face. This book is basically a guide to help the reader understand people from all socioeconomic backgrounds. The tough part about this paper is that we have to create our own thesis about how Lindenwold High School addresses poverty and I chose a chapter about creating relationships. The chapter starts off saying "the key to achievement for students from poverty is in creating relationships with them." This proves that an administator-student relationship is highly vital and will make a huge difference. Well, guys, wish me luck on this thing.

I think I'm going to interview coach sellers and a student who frequently gets into trouble. Asking him some of his strategies to prevent kids from misbehaving and possibly interview a couple of teachers and see the positive and negative side of creating relationships with students.

First day with my mentor

Yesterday, after 7th period, I went to meet up with Mrs. Rapattoni at the middle school. I know she is my mentor but I could not get a hold of my sponsor so I am working with the counselors at the middle school for now. Mrs. Rapattoni suggested that I just pop up at school four and introduce myself to Ms. Burns; this is a good idea but I feel wierd just showing up out of no where. I guess I need to suck it up and just do it!

Anyway, being at the middle school was an interesting experience. Although I was only there for one day so far, I got an idea of some of the issues I will be dealing with when helping young teens. For the most part, their problems are very common- things we have all been through atleast once in our lives, while others are not so common. Listening in during the students' appointments with Mrs. Rapattoni has taught me to be a better listener and I even got to come up with some suggestions/ideas about how one of the students could fix their problem. Ultimately, they are making their own decision on how to handle situations but counselors are there to give options and listen.

I definately think counseling is the job for me and so far, I want to stick with it!

Thesis for Research Paper

I want my research paper to do with counseling in a middle school. Between 5- 8 grade, a lot is changing in the students' lives. Identity role confusion sometimes happens and it is hard for students to find where they "fit in". I need to look into my psychology notes on adolescents but this stuff is very interesting to me and I know I want to research more about this particular subject. Maybe in my project I will have a scenario and point out what is wrong with the child and explain in depth the reason behind their behavior/ situation.

Freshman to Senior in 5 minutes.

This blog was inspired by Aliccia's blog about Senior year speeding by. Aside from Senior year going by fast, high school itself went by faster than I would have ever imagined. It seems like just yesterday we were running around in freshman rec, beating the heck out of each other with basketballs! I have to agree with most people when they say that high school is the best time in their life and goes by far too fast. When I think about all of the friends I have made, even some of the bad friends I have weeded out, I realize that high school is more than equations,grammar, and all that academic stuff (which is still important to know!), but we are learning life lessons and maturing day by day. It is hard to actually think that it will be over soon. As much as I want to leave this school and start a life of my own and meet new people, I am going to miss certain things about this place. We only have a half of a year left and I am going to try to make the best of it!

Senior Project Intro

Last Wednesday, our Senior Project class met up with our families, sponsors, and mentors to give an introduction to the project and inform everyone what is expected of us for the second semester. Although I was nervous about the speech, I guess it turned out alright. The only thing I was worried about explaining was the project within the project, which from what I understand is out of the picture now. Once Snyder brought us outside the library to discuss the small changes that had to be made during the speech, I was scrambling for something to say. I didn't want to just waste perfectly good air talking about nonsence! Snyder and Mr. Abrams ended up congratulating everyone on their speeches and everything was gravy.

The next day, Ms. Sykes and Snyder came into our class and everyone gave opinions on how the posters should be graded and just to make sure everybody was on the same page. I feel a lot better that we had a chance to clear everything up and discuss our likes and dislikes about the project so far. I definately would rather blog 5 times a week and do one big journal for the whole week. Keeping a handwritten journal is important to me because I like to be somewhat creative and since I am serious about this project, maybe i'll actually be organized (FOR ONCE!). I do not see myself doing 5 journals per week along with 5 blogs; that is just crazy talk! The ideas we have so far are pretty good and I am looking foward to the rest of the year in this class!