Emma Caitlin Owen

Immodest Proposal
R. Andrew Brown
UWRT 1103
For the latter half of my semester-long literacy project, I would like to
examine more closely the inadequate ratio that exists in our country between
school counselors and students. According to the American School Counselor
Association (ASCA), the ideal ratio is 250 students for every counselor in the
school. However, in the case of my mentor, there are approximately 500 or more
students enrolled in the school at any given time; needless to say, she is the only
licensed counselor employed. I plan to focus on multiple topics surrounding this,
i.e. the effects of counseling underservice on the school-aged population, excessive
responsibilities placed on overworked counselors, reasons school systems might be
reluctant to hire additional counselors, ways to lower this ratio.
The fact that this ratio is twice what it should be in a relatively small
community that contains five elementary schools fascinated me. If this is the case
in my middle-of-nowhere hometown, I cannot imagine how unproportional this
ratio might be in a major city public school. I have seen firsthand through my sister
the overwhelming workload that can be placed on a counselor with half a thousand
students to care for on a regular basis; theres no chance of every child receiving
the proper care when the odds are placed so highly against them.
Thistopic is one worthy of approving because counselors can have a
profound effect on their students and, in turn, society. Counselors encourage
students to attend college, cultivate their interests in education, provide life-saving
services (such as Backpack Buddies) that give children in poverty meals that
they might not otherwise receive at home, and often play a large hand in removing
students from abusive househoulds. When counselors are understaffed, children
fall by the wayside and into a cycle of poverty. These children matter, and allowing
the public education system to insist that they do not is a shame.