Sassaman-- Blog 2

Blog Post 2

To be frank and forward in my blog post, I didn’t know that I would be so passionate about the career counseling part of being a school counselor.  But as I continue to read and learn more about career counseling, I find myself getting more and more passionate about these topics.  Specifically, the way it is tied into social justice.  In the Gibson (2005) article, I found myself fired up again when I wasn’t expecting to.  I was extremely bothered about the gender questions that she suggested students ask their parents.  In elementary section, she suggests students ask their parents “Can men and Women do that kind of work?” (Gibson, pg. 356).  I just don’t understand why that’s included, I cannot see the value in the question.  Especially since Gibson is stating that children are extremely impressionable when it comes to parental opinions and influences on career choices at a young age.  Why would we want to gender careers for males or females?  We don’t want a boy or girl thinking they cannot pursue a certain profession because they aren’t the right gender.  Things are slowly changing, but not fast enough.  Asking and promoting our students to ask of both men and women can pursue certain careers seems counterproductive and I find it a little ridiculous if I’m honest.  I’m actually looking forward to hearing other people’s opinions on the subject, as I’m having a hard time seeing this from another point of view.  Perhaps there is value in the question?  I’m not sure what her intent was. 

            Additionally, I was fascinated to read about how career development theory may be unintentionally racist.  I have read several studies detailing differences between individualized societies (putting individual needs first) and collectivist societies (putting needs of group above individual needs).  In my American view, I was thinking that it should be totally up to the individual to decide for themselves what career path to choose.  However, Brown points out that collectivist cultures try to put the group’s needs first and therefore parents would have a larger role in their child’s career path (Brown, pg. 46).  With America’s population diversifying, I expect that as school counselors we will have to work with student from numerous backgrounds who may see career development differently than I am used to.  As we are learning with counseling theories, the same goes for career counseling theories: not all theories can be applied to all individuals.  Depending on the situation, a different theory may need to be used.  In this case, if someone is from a different culture that is more collectivists, we as career counselors should think about using a theory that is less monocultural. 

References

Brown, D. (2016).  Career information, career counseling, and career development, (11th ed.). Chapel Hill, NC: Pearson. 

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