Free Skill Profiler

www.careerinfonet.org/skills is an amazing website offering a free service that allows people/students  the opportunity to search a career, identify skills necessary for specific career success, and then lists many more careers that your skill set matches.

Example: career searched school counselor

Five skills I currently have:

Develop educational programs.

Develop working relationships with others to facilitate program activities.

Evaluate characteristics of individuals to determine needs or eligibility.

Interview clients to gather information about their backgrounds, needs, or progress.

Lead classes or community events.

The skill that I am working on refining and has given me the most satisfaction is developing an educational program, specifically developing the curriculum for a course called Approaches to Learning (ATL). West High was approved to facilitate the International Baccalaurete Career Program last year and I am the only teacher that is teaching the capstone course ATL. The freedom to teach whatever I feel is important is liberating and I know it will take a few years to get all the kinks out but I am willing to continue evolving. The course focuses on intercultural understanding, communication, transferable professional skills, and community service learning outreach. I am excited to use many of the activities you have taught us in this course because they will be great enrichment to the topics already taught.

Most of the skills that I need to work on have to do with one on one counseling topics and intervening during crisis situations. One on one interactions with students at this point in my career make me nervous because there is really no reason for a teacher to have individual meetings with students especially concerning sensitive subjects. My plan to develop the skills necessary to provide these services to students is exactly what I hope to learn in this program. Over the next 2 years I plan to learn and practice individual counseling techniques in order to use them in the classroom as a teacher and in an office when serving a student as a counselor. I also believe that I must educate myself to the best of my ability about all the opportunities within the secondary and post secondary school setting to be a truly beneficial vessel and advocate for each of my students. I also need to learn some better strategies as to helping young people set and work towards goals, each of the ways I have tried to teach this do not seem to be successful.

Here is a complete list of the skills I need to focus on developing:
- Assist students in handling details of daily life
- Counsel clients regarding personal issues
- Counsel clients with interpersonal issues
- Develop educational policies
- Evaluate potential problems in home or work of clients
- Intervene in crisis situations
-Maintain social services knowledge
-Plan programs to address community mental wellness needs
- Refer clients to community or social service programs
- Supervise workers providing client services
- Train staff members in social service skills

Full Moon Refresh

I could call this post Personal Culture 2 but since tons has been happening, I believe this is more of a refresh. This week brings about many changes and I am both excited and anxious. I will be a graduate student at the University of Utah studying school counseling and continue teaching full time in the process. 

My first class of a two year program begins on Wednesday. I would like to speak through this blog as I cover topics that may be difficult, in class and in life. 

Personal Culture Part I

A little backstory: Last year I got to be involved in establishing the International Baccalaureate Career Certificate program at West. You can follow and see what we did at www.westhighibcp@blogger.com for a bit more info.

Flash forward to the beginning of year two: I assigned my new class to present and write about their personal culture. I have decided that since I asked them to do this assignment that I am going to do it as well. I am also going to try and do every assignment that I assign them, for numerous reasons but ultimately to see if it helps me create better curriculum. 

This assignment was much more difficult than I anticipated and has got me thinking about my past and that giant that question that swims in everyone's head, "what is the point of life?" Here is a link to the prezi (https://prezi.com/2wszdh6w8h1r/my-personal-culture/) that I used to explain my culture but I will be editing the presentation as I am reflecting on it here.

I asked the class to first rank a set of values, read some example cultural essays, and give their personal culture a title. It was interesting when I first assigned this and one of my hispanic girls said, "we are all working together on this assignment," talking about her and all the other hispanic girls in the class. My reply, "Even though you are hispanic do you want to be grouped into one group with all hispanics? That is just a part of you." This was a great point to make to begin the assignment but it still is a hard thing to pinpoint.

 To begin I called my culture the Ami "i.e." culture in order to explain the spelling of my name. I was raised spelling my name Amie but my parents did not notice that the 'e' was forgotten on my birth certificate. It wasn't until I was applying for college that I noticed my legal name was Ami. I went through a mini identity crisis when this was discovered but I am over it now. I think in the future my personal culture will be titled, "Eo Ipso" like my blog, I mean the definition is "is or of itself," and how much more personal can I get? 

Well...I am certainly not regular!

However, life is certainly exciting and has taken many turns and will be taking more turns in the future. We have purchased a house, which may be come the major topic on my blog for at least the near future. I have been too busy to reflect but I have a new MacBook so I can be lazy and productive at the same time. 

This week has been exciting, I have been accepted into the school counseling graduate program at the University of Utah. 

It is my #birthdaymonth and I am celebrating! 

#34givemesomemore

P.S. Hashtags were not around at the time of my last post..that is how long I have been away. 

I am going to be more regular...and I'm not talking about my bowels!

Since it is the end of my work season...we will say. I am most definitely going to be updating this and Bebop's Dlog more often! I hate to admit that BEBOP is wayyyy more popular than me! Good thing he is cute!                                       
 This school year has taught me a tremendous amount and I have made some major decisions in my life that I believe, will help me a create a better me!

As we get ready to celebrate our really real anniversary!

I couldn't resist having this giant TARDIS made for Zack for our 1st real anniversary. My friend Rachel of Hook'd Crocheting made this and it turned out GIANT! You can't help but smile when you see it. We are so happy at this present moment...getting the wood paneling painted has really made our house a home. The next post will be pics from our anniversary trip!

                                         

The Proposal

Zack and I have a habit of getting pictures taken in photo booths whenever we see them. When we began dating we often made trips to Kmart on Foothill because it was the only place that had an old school booth. The most epic of these jaunts was on May 17, Zack's Birthday, after having dinner with our families. Zack wanted to do some together and then some individually, which we don't usually do but I was down. We did some together first and then had fun being goofy on our own. I confessed my undying love for him and he confessed his undying love of being Straight Edge. Then the moment came...Our last four pictures were together and in that moment Zack proposed to me. My face says it all and I could not be happier that we have this moment on film forever!