According to the ASCA national model, school counselors act as consultants that help parents, teachers and students collaborate effectively. School counselors are leaders that invest in making schools a welcoming learning community where all students can achieve academic, and persona/social success. Also, they are advocates for they students they serve. All students need advocates, especially those who do not have the skills to self-advocate and who are at risk of dropping out of school. School counselor work diligently for systematic change to eliminate practices that inhibits or stratify the student’s opportunity. The role of a school counselor does not change due to the work environment. A school counselor in an urban school setting …show more content…
In order for a school counselor to achieve a multiethnic perspective, the school counselor has to be willing to understand his or her own ethnic identity. The article Ethnicity and Family Therapy discussed an ethnicity training study that helped participants monitor their own reactions and increase their sensitivity to others. As I read the study, I reminisced about my multicultural class in the school-counseling program. Numerous times in that class, I became frustrated because every time the topic of race and ethnicity surfaced, there was a lack of participation in the discussion. Usually, the students of color were the ones involved in the class discussion. In my opinion, the silence that became present after a student of color shared their experiences represented lack empathy from the other students. I understood that race and ethnicity is a complicated subject to deal with, but the lack of involvement about the topic resulted in the class feeling avoidant and I felt unacknowledged. School counselors in urban schools should never give off the impression that their student’s race and ethnicity was not …show more content…
These strategies can be utilized with any marginalized group attending an urban school setting. Strategy one- explore your own attitude about minority families and their children. As stated previous, race and ethnicity plays a major role in urban schools. School counselors have to be aware of their attitudes and views about minorities. Lack for awareness in their own attitude and beliefs can result in hindering a student or family. Strategy two- obtain an accurate and well-balanced perspective of minority family life. School counselors’ perspective of minorities should not be shaped by the media displays of minorities. They should maintain a comprehensive perspective by expanding their knowledge by reading resources that reflects or inform others about minority’s culture. Strategy three- establish rapport. School counselors should initiate contact with minorities to develop a rapport with both students and families. Communication with parents should not be limited to making negative reports. School counselors should contact families to inform them about current school activities, events and meetings. Strategy four- make flexible meeting times. School counselors should be aware of the needs of the school. In urban school, many of the minority’ family members work and have a difficult time