He has more to offer as high school counselor
“I’ve always had people say, ‘You’re so easy to talk to. I feel like I can tell you anything.’ It’s something that has kind of happened organically.
“Becoming a counselor is definitely something that’s been in the back of my mind. During the quarantine I had a lot of time for self-reflection. I kind of took inventory of what I needed in my life. And I’ve decided that I need a little bit more. That the opportunities teaching has given me have not filled me up the way that I feel like I need to be filled up. Let’s just say I got hungrier.
“I looked back across my teaching career, and I decided to make a list of my top accomplishments. When I examined them, only two out of 10 were in regard to actually teaching English. The rest were from interactions that I’ve had with students, in which I had helped them personally. Whether I had helped somebody come back from thinking about suicide, helped somebody deal with the death of a parent, or encouraged someone to come out of their shell and become something that they previously were not. It’s these kinds of experiences that make me feel like I have more to offer these kids.
“Being an English teacher has been a really great experience. But I think that becoming a counselor can give me a larger platform to help people in this way. Instead of just having access to 150 students a year, I could help a great many more as a counselor. I really feel like this is my calling, this is my duty, this is my purpose.”
— Jeff Derrickson
Jeff teaches English at North Shore High School. He recently began taking graduate school courses to become a counselor.
Related:
