Journal Entry #4

Lately I have had too many offenders coming into the office to complain about how a teacher is mistreating them. This is my least favorite type of counseling. In the majority of cases, the acts against the offender are over emphasized while their actions are played down. One of the common traits of offenders is that they are very impatient when they are trying to get some assistance from someone in authority. When they ask for something, they want it now. It is probably a survival technique learned from being incarcerated. Often they are told that they will get what they requested just to get rid of them. So when I listen to their story, assure them and myself that I understand their situation, they are uneasy when I do nothing. I counsel them to get them through the rough parts, assure them that I will talk to the teacher, and send them back to class. That is unless I feel that they would be better served by remaining out of the classroom. When I talk to the teacher, typically the offender is the one creating the problem. If it is someone who has not been in to see me before, they generally have just received a case. Their thought process leads them to believe that if they complain first, the case will be dropped.

It does give me a chance to talk about taking responsibility for your own actions. I also get to talk about making assumptions. I have been trying to incorporate more of the intentional counseling in these situations. But since I have not finished the book or the class, I am mostly working at getting the story.