Cassie Edwards April 8, 2013 School Counseling Ethnography As seen in Beaufort (1999), discourse communities have three main

characteristics that can be found in any community: communication channels, norms for genres, and writers roles and tasks. These three key features all have a major focus on writing and communication, which is fundamental in the workplace. Discourse communities of every profession interact and overlap every day and it is important to know how to communicate professionally between each of the discourse communities. Ethnographic research is a good way to study how ones desired discourse community will overlap with other discourse communities in dayto-day situations, and how to communicate effectively. Ethnographic research highlights and emphasizes human relationships: between participants and researchers, between writers and readers of the ethnographic narratives/reports, between students and teachers in classrooms (Kahn, p. 176). Ethnographic research is all about studying cultures (Kahn, 2011) and the way people behave in said cultures. When ethnographers study different cultures and the people in them, they are taking on two different positions: observing and participating. Ethnographic research is an efficient way to gain more knowledge about a certain discourse community. Getting a first hand look at the work and practices that are taking place in a specific profession can better ones knowledge in the field of his or her interest. Studying writing through this kind of first-hand research can

help shed some light on the types of writing you will have to do, and how you will need to prepare yourself for your first job. Knowing what style of writing is needed is learned through knowing the genres specific to your discourse community. As learned through Anne Beaufort (1999) and her study of genres, adapting to the writing done in your first job is not an easy task. It takes actually being in the workplace and gaining knowledge first-hand to completely learn and adapt to the writing that will be asked of you. This kind of knowledge is acquired through informal learning rather than explicit genre instruction (Beaufort, p. 104), and we also see in Seth Kahns text that ethnographic writing does notin factcannot follow a conventional formula for essays. It requires you to experiment with style, voice, structure, and purpose (2011, p. 176). This is why immersing yourself in a specific discourse community can help you fully understand what is being asked of your profession.

Methodology

For this project, I contacted my high school guidance counselor, Catherine Wolf, since that is the career path I wish to take. I was unable to go into her school and speak face to face, so we spoke via email. I asked various questions about writing and what to expect when in that field of work. Some of the questions I asked were what advice would you give to someone who is considering school counseling? and what kind of writing do you do/focus on the most? I hope to gain a better understanding of what is going to be asked of me when I enter the field

myself. Through this research I also hope to gain enough knowledge not only in the writing I will do, but also in the situations I will be put in so I am prepared for my career. School counseling deals with children of all ages and is a field that requires a lot of understanding and patience, and through this process I expect to acquire the information necessary to be a successful school counselor. I also want to focus on communication in general in the school counseling field. As previously stated, I contacted Catherine via email. Contacting her was very difficult since she is now the main guidance counselor at Sheridan High School. Sheridan has always had two counselors, but with the retiring of senior guidance counselor, Larry Davis, a new counselor was brought in. For this project I chose to speak with Catherine because she has been counseling for twenty years, and plans to retire within the next three years. She is very experienced and enjoys her job, so I thought it would be a good idea to make her my counselor of interest. I was unable to go into the school and observe, not only because my schedule conflicted with available times, but also because counseling is very confidential.

Results

Mrs. Wolf gave me a lot of insight on what to know and expect when I enter the school counseling community. I started with the simple question, What made you want to go into school counseling? and Wolfs response was something I could relate to very much, I had always been someone who had been a "go to" person for friends, family and even strangers so I felt that counseling was a perfect fit for

me. She also told me that she had been teaching for 15 years in elementary schools and needed a change. School counseling, and even teaching, is a field that requires a lot of patience and understanding, and when an individual goes into the field he or she needs to be passionate about what they are doing. As previously stated, Wolf had been teaching for 15 years and now she has been counseling for 20. She enjoys what she does and thats what makes her so good at her job. One thing that Wolf said to me was that It is also important to fight for time to counsel students, and she told me that often times administration wants school counselors to just be test monitors, do paper work, and even be mini-administrators. I have fought to make sure that I have time to talk to kids about their problems Wolf added. I can tell that she is passionate about what she does, and I know that that is a quality I have right now towards the career. The next question I asked was what advice would you give someone who is considering school counseling? to which Wolf responded, I think it's important to have a classroom experience before becoming a counselor in the schools So many of the counselor's decisions on scheduling, etc impacts on the teachers and so it is important to have that perspective in mind. In the piece we read by Seth Kahn, he tells us to see situations from all perspectives when writing about the community you are viewing, rather than complete a one sided ethnography. This is also general, helpful information to take into account once an individual is in the career of their choice. Like Wolf said, counselors do a lot of office work for students and incorporating the views of the teachers into the decisions being made makes things easier for everyone. Wolf also added, It is very easy to become judgmental about

the teachers and what they aren't doing for a student unless you have experience yourself with how many ways a teacher's time is stretched. Counselors do a lot of writing and office work in their jobs and this is something I have become familiar with only this year. I am more interested in the counseling aspect, but to be a good counselor I need to prepare myself for the writing that will be done. I made the question simple and very broad by just asking, What kind of writing do you do in your job? Wolf responded in a way that didnt surprise me, I do mostly formal writing. Knowing how to write and set up a business letter is very important. Counselors that work in a high school setting help students with college applications, post-secondary decisions, and so on. Wolf also explained that she writes a lot of letters of referral and recommendation. She also included that its very important to have good grammar and spelling, Correct grammar and punctuation is vital because nothing makes us look as stupid to the public as a poorly constructed letter with multiple mistakes. Something that did surprise me, however, was when she told me that some counselors have a secretary that can do the writing for them. Wolf then explained that she prefers to do her own writing because it is easier to do it herself than to explain to someone what she wants written. As a counselor, I must be able to communicate with professionals at other schools and my own, but I must also be able to communicate effectively with the students I am working with. Another aspect of counseling that Wolf explained to me was that she does a lot of speaking, private and public. Although the main focus of this paper is to look at writing, I do not want to forget about how important speaking is in this field, as it

is the main way a counselor communicates with his or her students. There are many instances where Wolf has had to do group grief counseling with students, and having a script written when speaking is very important. A counselor should have what they want to say ready and prepared because some of the issues that students have will be very serious. Good verbal communication skills are just as important as written communication in this field. She gave me some advice to buff up your skills on death and dying and sexual abuse, divorce, drug/alcohol abuse and domestic violence. All of these are major issues in our kid's lives.

Analysis and Discussion

When I spoke to Wolf we focused on communication in writing, but she did not let me forget that word of mouth is also important. The school counselor discourse community has to communicate with professionals from others schools and colleges, and also to students. One key feature I found most prominent was that a school counselor should be professional in his or her workplace, but also needs to be a good listener, relatable, and full of helpful knowledge for the student. I have come to the realization that a counselor must be dynamic in the situations that students bring to them. Chris Anson and L. Forsberg make a great point when they say, the social dimensions of specific settings influence writers rhetorical and linguistic decision (1990, p. 202). Being prepared for what comes your way is vital in this profession because some issues are very touchy and can be very serious matters, such as loss of a loved one, suicide thoughts/attempts, and

even cases of abuse, to name a few. Each situation encountered calls for a different tone of language when speaking to students about said situation. Context does matter. As a counselor I need to be able to leave a professional meeting with coworkers and then be able to have a meeting with a student and help them however they need me too. Every discourse community is different in its own way, yet most overlap every day. Having a good knowledge of how to be flexible when speaking to other communities can help with the success of your position. Ethnographic research is a good way to better prepare ones self for the career path that they are heading towards because you are experiencing situations and learning things first hand. Seth Kahn states, people learn more from direct experience that from second-hand experience (2011, p. 178). Having a general idea of what is expected of you is always a good idea before you submerge yourself in your career. Also, having an understanding of the genres of writing you will be working with will also benefit you and your career. Besides all of the tips that Catherine Wolf has given me on what to expect when I enter the school counseling field, she has also show me to be passionate in what I do. She never directly said that to me, but I can tell that she is just by the way she spoke to me. Although knowing your genres and how to communicate is important, being passionate about what you do is going to make your job enjoyable and the rest will come naturally.

Works Cited Anson, C., & Forsberg, L. (1990). Moving beyond the academic community: transitional stages in professional writing. In Reading In Professional Writing

Beaufort, A. (1999). Learning new genres: The convergence of knowledge and action. In Reading in professional writing

Beaufort, A. (1999). The institutional site of composing: Converging and overlapping discourse communities. In Reading In Professional Writing

Kahn, S. (2011). Putting ethnographic writing in context. In Reading In Professional Writing