Chapter 1

When I first began reading this chapter, I really thought I was in for it. I sat there attempting to read and understand the facts about global economy, "flattening", outsourcing, etc. and honestly thought to myself, I really hope this entire book isn't about this confusing stuff. That might sound ignorant or just plain dumb, but I hope some of my classmates were feeling the same way. That being said, I was definitely more intrigued with the topic of social justice and the concept that not every American is blessed with equal opportunities to excel in their career development. One of the reasons I wanted to go into school counseling was to attain the skills to advocate for those less fortunate "at-risk" students who do not think they have a chance at college or a fulfilling career and according to our society, they don't, which I believe is an attitude that needs to change.

Brown (2012) goes on to say that current career practitioners or those striving to be, like myself, need many skills including the design and implementation of psychoeducational experiences and transitional experiences for a wide array of clients, including at-risk or special education students. I wondered to myself what these types of experiences look like and note their importance in such advocacy. I also understand the importance of looking at the individual in their social context, not just objectively. I was not surprised to find out that the need for career development services is at its highest point since the Great Depression. I think Brown is trying to say that social justice will help foster career development, however it seems so unattainable. Brown (2012) states "social justice cannot be fully realized unless people have meaningful jobs" (p. 6). So my question is what do meaningful jobs look like? What makes a job meaningful to someone?

These questions led me to think about our class activity and the questions that we had to come up with to help understand our partner's stage in career development. I found myself asking questions about strengths, weaknesses, and adjectives to describe oneself. I now notice the important of asking questions about what makes someone happy and what sort of work would be meaningful to them. Because we're all in majors of the helping professions it is easy to assume that we get fulfillment from seeing others grow and prosper. It is essential, though, as future career practitioners to stress questions such as these to our students and clients alike when assisting in career development. Maybe if our society wasn't so wrapped up in measuring success with money rather than fulfillment, social justice could be reached.

Brown, D. (2012).  Career information, career counseling, and career development

(10^th ed.).  New York: Pearson Education, Inc.