Throughout most people’s lives they are searching for a sense of belonging and fellowship. These two words are key to how the dictionary defines community and connectedness. When thinking of schools and the culture or environment one wants to create, these two concepts become nonnegotiables. Brene’ Brown (2013) states it this way, “Connection is why we're here. We are hardwired to connect with others, it's what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and without it there is suffering” (p. 8). For a school culture to be of the variety where both faculty, community members, and students “buy-in,” they all need to feel like they belong or have a purpose.
When creating a school it is important to help not only all employees (teachers, counselors, janitors, Student resource officers, etc.), but also community organizations, parents, social workers, etc. to feel connected to the school. Each one of these things or people have strengths and weaknesses, but the school is stronger when they all work together. By having multiple partners in and outside the school/community, the school is held accountable for how they educate and progress their students.
School counselors and educators encounter students along the spectrum of connectedness. That connectedness most always has everything to do with their family of origin. Nouwen (1972) describes the disconnected end of this spectrum in this way, “Isolation is among the worst of human suffering” (p. 65). As students navigate the tension of their family values, beliefs, and practices, they are met with an opportunity to be a part of a school community, the other end of the spectrum. Entering this tension, school counselors have the opportunity to help both the individual student and the school community. Ingersoll and Bauer (2004) reveal the reality that, “Personal growth takes place in the context of community, and healthy individual development is essential for healthy community” (p, 303).
Therefore, with that being the goal, Kimbrell and Schellenberg (2014) make a case for the need of spiritual and religious competencies for school counselors in an attempt to meet the developmental and cultural needs of students. The goal is to promote and help achieve well-being in students individually while creating a school community that is inclusive of all students with their various religious and spiritual backgrounds.
To bring it all together, all humans have value and need community. School counselors and educators, have the opportunity and responsibility to help students realize that community within themselves and with others. Through listening, observing, and entering into a student’s story, school counselors can identify with them and lead those students into a better existence. Nouwen (1972) paints a beautiful picture of this vision,
“For we all need others to live, and the deeper we are willing to enter into the painful condition we all know, the more likely it is that we can become successful leaders, leading people out of the desert and into the promised land” (p. 67).
References
Brown, B. (2013). Daring greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live,
love, parent, and lead. Spiegel & Grau.
Ingersoll, R. E., & Bauer, A. L. (2004). An integral approach to spiritual wellness in
school counseling settings. Professional School Counseling, 7(5), 301-308.
Kimbel, T. M., & Schellenberg, R. (2014). Meeting the holistic needs of students: A proposal for
spiritual and religious competencies for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 17(1), 76-85. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/profschocoun.17.1.76
Nouwen, H. J. (1972). The wounded healer: Ministry in contemporary society. Image
Doubleday.
Coauthors of this blog post are Angela Hayes and Jack Manning.
Commentaires