Post #2

As I was reading there were several ideas that caught my attention.  One phrase that really resonated with me was, “Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics believe that welfare of the group should be placed ahead of the concerns of individuals.  They hold a collateral, or collective, social value and thus may reject the ideas that independence and competition are acceptable” (Brown, 2012, p. 28).  In America, the focus always seems to be about the individual and what each person wants or needs.  It was so interesting to me to really understand that cultures are different in this aspect.  As counselors we are going to come across a diverse group of students and we need to know how to handle each situation.  Different students are going to have different values and backgrounds.  Although we might want students to make decisions based on what they enjoy and their personality, for an Asian student, his culture values the opinions of their parents and family.  It may not feel right for him to make his own decisions without first consulting his parents.

Another idea that I found interesting had to do with the Theory of Work Adjustment.  As it was discussing how some individuals take an active approach and they make a direct attempt to make the work environment suit their needs while others take the opposite approach (Brown, 2012, p. 36).  Unlike active workers, the reactive workers change themselves rather than trying to change their work setting (Brown, 2012, p. 36).  I found this extremely interesting.  It makes sense to me that individuals would perhaps choose a job that has a better reputation or makes more money rather than choosing one that simply makes them happy.  In today’s society, the way you appear to others seems often times more important than your own happiness.

On another note, in the article by Gibson, it discussed the use of family trees and genograms as a way to supplement a comprehensive guidance program (Gibson, 2005).  It seems obvious to me that by understanding your individual family dynamic, it can help you reach your own goals later in life.  One idea that was not something I would have thought about was that the author discusses students having a permanent guidance folder that follows the student all through school.  I do not believe that my school did this as I was growing up.  In this folder, students would have the family tree that they created in elementary school and then possibly a genogram later on in middle school.  This folder would collect important information for them and then it would be accessible to them in high school when they are finally sitting down and deciding what they want to do with their future (Gibson, 2005).  Although this idea was new to me, once I thought about it, it really seemed like the obvious thing to do. Of course a school should keep these necessary career development documents. 

    

Brown, D. (2012).  Career Information, Career Counseling, and Career Development.  New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Gibson, D. M. (2005). The use of genograms in career counseling with elementary, middle, and high school students. The Career Development Quarterly, 53, 353-362.