On Professionalism, Social Media and Privacy

By Kathryn Rochford

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful winter break and that you’ve started the semester off strong! It’s going to be a busy one, but I hope it treats us all well.

I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about an experience I had last semester that today is growing increasingly more relevant. This experience relates to the theme of professionalism, social media, and the issue of privacy.

Last semester I was blessed to spend my field experience at Marquette University High School, an all-boys, Catholic high school. I learned so much about teaching styles, classroom management and the importance of relationships with students. However, being one of the two females in the classroom (the other being my coordinating teacher), there were some instances of awkwardness. The main one I want to focus on is when I was casually scrolling through Instagram, and I got a notification of a new follower request. I clicked on the notification to see who it was and, with sudden dread, I realized it was one of the students in the classroom I observed.

A million thoughts seemed to flood through my head. How did he find my Instagram when I’ve never told the students my first name? Why did this specific student follow me if it’s not a student I regularly held conversations with? Do I mention the topic with the student? With my coordinating teacher? Do I make a class announcement about the importance of privacy and the separation that needs to be maintained between students and teachers online?

After careful consideration, and plenty of frazzled conversations with my teacher friends and non-teacher friends alike, I decided to bring it up to my coordinating teacher. She laughed for a bit and said she was surprised that specific student followed me, since again, he never talked to me much. She shared stories of how this has happened before to other observing students she’s had and the issues it had caused them. She recommended I leave it unanswered, since I didn’t want him to see I rejected the request and then keep requesting to follow me. I decided I would follow that advice since it seemed like the easiest path.

Lately it feels as if we are warned more and more about what to put on our social media as potential employers can and will use your posts as a determining factor on whether to hire you. It never really occurred to me that my students, and possibly their parents, would be looking me up, too. It reminds me of a policy my teachers in high school had that even if we did friend request them, they wouldn’t accept the request until after we had graduated. In the case of my soccer coach/ history teacher, he used to tag my mom in photos of me so I could still see the posts.

I thanked God I had my profile set to private not public, and that even then I am careful with what I post. If I had one recommendation for new education students, it’s to set your profile to private so people must request to follow you and to still limit what you post. Your future students don’t need to see pictures of you at parties in college or drunk at a bar on your 21^st.

This new idea of professionalism in the workplace may be a bit hard to get used to. It’s hard to see so many other college students freely posting and saying what they want to on Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat. They can post some of the fun memories we have with them that may be NSFW. I’m sure this part of adulting and learning what should be shared and what shouldn’t be is hard for everyone when they hit that point, but the issue for us as education majors is that transition happens as you are trying to figure out what college is and who you are as an adult. However, this idea of professionalism carries a different weight with it when you are an education major, especially one here at Marquette. Here at MU, we are blessed to enter the professional world a bit earlier than most, with opportunities for service-learning beginning freshman year.

So, while this may be a more serious topic than I usually post, I feel it is especially relevant as we move into times where our students could be trying to find our social media. Overall, social media can be a wonderful tool to connect us, to bring us to the latest ideas, and to share aspects of our lives. Yet when it comes to our lives as educators, it’s time to switch into private mode. Hopefully a few of you can learn from my story and won’t have to have an awkward interaction like that. If you do have something like this happen in the future, I hope you can face it head on, without the minutes of panic I seemed to have.

Getting to Know Our Students: Meet Cynthia D’Amico

We are excited to be spending time getting to know our students right here on the Marquette Educator! You can get to know more of our students and our faculty/ staff on previous posts. Read on to meet Cynthia D’Amico, a doctoral student in the EDPL department.

I’m originally from Winnetka, Illinois, and I live there still. This means I have a long commute up to Marquette for my classes, but I don’t mind the drive. Favorite driving podcast: The History of the English Language with Kevin Stroud. I am on episode 130 (at about an hour an each—lots of drive time) I have a daughter who getting her Master’s in Education at Nortwestern University, a 22-year-old son who is poet, a reader, and a writer, and a daughter in high school.

Teaching is my favorite educational experience—always! Even when I am the teacher, I am a student as well. This year, I am looking forward to taking my class on Advanced Research Statistics. I love data, and I cannot wait to learn how to use research tools to plan and measure change. I entered Marquette’s Educational Policy and Leadership Ph.D. program to gain a deeper understanding of the current educational landscape in what appears to be an age of dwindling democracy, and how I could effectuate positive change on a broad scale. I choose Marquette specifically because I strongly believe in the principles of Jesuit education: an education without a guiding moral perspective, to me, seems to devalue the process and the outcome. I was also drawn to the sense of community that I felt the first time I spoke with Drs. Sharon Chubbuck and Cynthia Ellwoodabout the program. I wanted to be in a program where the faculty knew and supported students in a collective journey.

Outside of the classroom, I am always reading books related to education, equity, motivation, mindset, and how the brain works. I also volunteer as a literacy/writing coach in a first-grade classroom, and run a class at my local library as well. I find true joy in helping others learn in new and creative ways. Always try to be in the process of learning something new, or something old from a new perspective.

I have many rhetorical heroes who inspire my work. At the top of the list is Frederick Douglass. “There can be no independence without a large share of self-dependence, and that virtue cannot be bestowed. It must be developed from within.”

Others include:

Aristotle
Abraham Lincoln
John Adams
Gandhi
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Desmond Tutu
Nelson Mandela
Toni Morrison

Learning how to communicate effectively in English is challenging in the best of circumstances, but for students who enter the school system without having been immersed in academic English, the challenge sometimes becomes insurmountable. I went from practicing law to teaching English at a Title I high school in Chicago. While I struggled to provide my students with the tools they would need to succeed in college, many lacked foundational skills in academic English upon which to build, and that made my job much more challenging. Knowing how to write well did not mean that I knew how to teach the nuts and bolts of foundational English well.

As I set out to teach (or reteach) myself how the English language worked, I discovered a dearth of effective programs that I, personally, could use, or that I could offer my students. And so, the journey began. The more I researched, the more frustrated I became trying to teach the complicated nuances of the English language in a way that understandable and accessible for all types of students. I spent years developing and refining materials that ultimately became very successful with high school and college students, but I realized that if we could reach students earlier, we could have a profound impact on their educational trajectory. I partnered with a former special-education teacher and elementary school principal for more than a decade, understood first-hand the challenges of providing teachers and students with materials to satisfy the demands of the Common Core State Standards. I have founded a company called The Color of English as I continue to look for positive ways to disrupt the educational status quo and create opportunities for educational equity. If you would like more information, check us out at the www.colorofenglish.com or on Instagram at color_of_english!

I have been overwhelmed by the nature of the support at Marquette even beyond the College of Education. Marquette’s entrepreneurial 707 Hub has been a terrific resource for me during this journey!

 

Getting to Know Sabrina Bartels

In honor of National School Counseling week, we’d like to introduce you to Sabrina Bartels, an alumna of our Masters in School Counseling program and a regular blogger for the Marquette Educator! You can get to know more of our students and our faculty/ staff on previous posts. 

I would like to think that I am a true Wisconsin girl. Over the years, I’ve acquired some specific talents that clearly indicate that I am from the Dairy State, such as drinking from a bubbler, making a brandy old-fashioned, and being able to name the Packers offensive line, just to name a few. I guess that makes it even more ironic that I, sadly, must admit that I am not Wisconsin born and raised.

Okay, half that statement is false. I am Wisconsin raised, but not born. See, I was adopted from South Korea when I was four or five months old, so part of my identity lies in my birthplace. But the vast majority of it comes from my wonderful parents and the good ol’ Midwest.

I grew up in Cudahy, which is home to Patrick Cudahy and their famous Applewood smoked bacon (fun fact: if you go by the Cudahy Family Library and the wind is just right, the entire parking lot smells like bacon. It’s pretty heavenly.) I lived with my parents, Jack and Diane – yes, just like the song! My dad actually grew up in Cudahy when he was younger, so I felt pretty cool being the second generation to grow up there. My immediate family is small, but we are pretty close. My dad and I used to watch Packer games together every Sunday, and if we couldn’t be physically together, we would text each other. My mom and I like cooking and baking together, or just catching up on our favorite TV shows. I got married in 2014 to my husband, Rob, and gained an awesome extended family, which includes my nieces and nephew. Getting to be “Aunt Sabrina” is probably one of my favorite things, and I love being able to spend time with each of them! Most recently, we went to a Monster Truck rally to watch the Megaladon truck (one of my nieces is big into megaladons right now.)

My parents always stressed the importance of hard work, education, and faith, all values that I found in common with Marquette University. I joined Marquette Nation in the fall of 2007, intent on becoming a news anchor or reporter. But by the time I hit my senior year of college, I was burnt out, and started doing some real soul-searching to pinpoint what I wanted to do with my life. I knew broadcasting wasn’t the life for me anymore – when you live with the mantra of “when it bleeds, it leads”, you hear a lot of depressing things – and I knew that I wanted to do something that would not only promote positivity, but that would make a difference in someone’s life. I had been a Burke Scholar during undergrad, and had spent a lot of time volunteering with the Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter at Marquette, so I knew that working with youth was definitely what I wanted. After a lot of talks with advisors, hours of research, and some reflection, I decided to get my Master’s degree and become a school counselor.

It’s funny: I applied to two other schools besides Marquette, but I never actually thought about what would happen if Marquette rejected me. After four years of living on campus, I saw Marquette as my home. To me, that was my only option. I never considered another school as seriously. Maybe that’s because I remember applying for my undergraduate degree to many of the same schools, and feeling as though some of those schools strictly saw me as a number, or a certain “quota” that they had to meet. I felt like Marquette truly valued me as a human being, and I didn’t want to lose that connectedness. In the end, I was super blessed that Marquette said yes, launching me into a whole new chapter of my life.

I graduated with my Master’s in 2013, and have been working as a middle school counselor for the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District ever since. In some ways, it’s been a seamless transition; in others, it’s been quite an experience! Marquette prepared me to be a good counselor, but I’ve always maintained that no matter how much you learn in grad school, none of it compares to that gritty, real-world experience that you gain from the job. Books can only take you so far sometimes, and this is definitely a profession where some of it, you will have to learn from experience.

I love my job. I’m not just saying that; I really do. I love my coworkers, my admin, and my students. My admin are so supportive, and my coworkers are like family. We have a “work dad” who looks out for us and gives us advice, and a “work mom” and “work aunt” that are always there when we need them. And as for my students, they can be both a challenge and a joy. At my school, we “loop” with our kids, so I follow my students as their counselor from sixth through eighth grade. I think that’s one of the best things we do. I am able to build relationships with my students and their families, and in turn, they build a relationship with me. When my sixth graders transition to being seventh graders, they know that I will continue to be a constant in their academic careers. That’s really saying something, and I never realized how much of an impact that can have on someone. A lot of my students don’t have consistency in their lives – they may not know where their next meal is coming from, or which parent is going to be home that night – so it’s nice when they know that I will always be there for them.

And honestly, I have never looked back. Really. I have never once regretted leaving the world of broadcasting and becoming a counselor. And while counseling is all about the delayed gratification (most of my students don’t always listen to my advice right away, but I’ve had a number of high schoolers come back and tell me “your advice makes so much sense now!”) I’m okay with that. I know that in the end, I am making the world better. I am helping educate our future, and that is plenty of reward for me.

Plus, there is so much more on the horizon for myself, and for my district. We are moving further into the world of Project Based Learning, and are continuing to make fantastic strides in ensuring that all students have the mental health support that they need, whether that’s by having counselors, social workers, or school psychologists in the buildings. We have been starting up new programs at my school, including the Hope Squad and WEB leaders, to help give students more leadership roles in the building. Times are changing, and my district is ready to meet that challenge.

As much as I love my job, I promise that’s not all I do. I have a lot of different hobbies, and I try to fit them all in when I have time! In addition to spending time with family and friends, I love reading, cooking, writing, watching sports (preferably football or baseball, but it’s all about Marquette basketball come November!) and bike riding. Reading has always been my biggest passion though; my parents have fond memories of me reading “If You Give a Moose a Muffin” when I was in preschool. Though I will read almost anything, I am on a historical fiction kick. If you want a beautifully poetic book about World War II, please read “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr. It is worth all the hype that surrounds it. I promise.

People always ask me what kind of advice I would give to future counselors, and it’s hard to say. I have so many things that I want to share, and if I had the chance, I would probably write a book about it. There is so much to learn, and yet, it’s not possible for you to learn everything. Like I said before, nothing prepares you for that very first day of being a counselor. Nothing can prepare you for how your heart will break when one of your students is being abused, or how sweaty you will become when you have to have a hygiene talk with a student. You have to be able to roll with the punches and just see how things turn out. I am far from a perfect counselor, but every day, I believe I learn something new that makes me better. A better counselor, a better daughter, a better wife, and a better person overall.

So maybe that’s my advice: learn something new every day. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You won’t look dumb, or ineffective. Consulting with others is all a part of the growing process.

Oh, and if you worked with a school counselor when you were younger, tell them thank you. It will mean the world to them.

Happy National School Counseling Week!

Week 7: The End

Laine Dolan, an elementary education and communications studies student in the College of Education is spending part of her student teaching semester abroad. She is teaching at Swanson School in Auckland, New Zealand, and is blogging about her experience. This post originally appeared on Laine’s own blog. 

The time has finally come: the last week of student teaching in New Zealand is over. However, here is a recap of the final week of this incredible experience!

My class had been working hard at their play of The Rainbow Fish and finally got to perform it for some other classes on Monday. The costumes turned out adorable and the students read their lines very well! I think I might have a few future Broadway stars in my class.

The last week of school we also had a water day where the kids enjoyed soaking me with squirt guns and a huge slip ‘n slide was set up on a hill. Another student teacher and I may have enjoyed the slip ‘n slide more than our students! My class also created their own jandals (sandals) after we read the story Crocodiles Christmas Jandals. I also continued to share my passion of lacrosse with my kiddos as we had some chances to practice their skills more. Finally we ended the week with some well earned ice blocks (popsicles).

Oh! Don’t let me forget about the final assembly! There were awards, each year level sang songs, and most importantly… the American teachers put together a little something for the school. We also were lucky enough to be pulled on stage with the Pacifico group to try to learn their cultural dance moves. It is a Pacifico tradition to bring people into their culture by having them try the dance with them. It was quite the surprise to us to be pulled on stage again but we did our best!

It’s the people that really make the most impact on experiences in life. I am so grateful to have been places with Janet these past seven weeks. She has been so fun to work with and has helped me grow as a teacher in so many ways. On our final day, after the bell rang and school ended, all of us American student teachers headed to Bethells beach for one last afternoon hangout.

I am so thankful for each and every person that I met while student teaching in New Zealand. There were countless people that went out of their way to make us all feel welcome. Lisa (a teacher at Swanson) hiked and got burgers with us the first weekend. Mike (a teacher) dedicated so much time to help us make traditional Maori bone carving necklaces. Hazel (a teacher and host of Sarah) took us hiking, kayaking, and snorkeling. Matt (a teacher) took us surfing. These are just a few of the numerous people that made this trip so special.

Most of all I am thankful for the girls asleep on the beach above. I could not have asked for a better group of girls to be stuck with every day for the past seven weeks. Sarah, Alee, Erin, Maddy, and I made so many memories this trip that I will never forget. I’m lucky to have four new best friends! See you all at St. Norbert College when I visit soon!

Thanks for following my blog!

The End.

Getting to Know Our Students: Meet Jennifer Orta

This year, we are spending time getting to know our students! You can get to know more of our students and our faculty/ staff on previous posts. Read on to meet Jennifer Orta, one of our current M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program!

I grew up in Aurora, Illinois, which happens to be a suburb of Chicago, as many of us are who are at Marquette. I went to undergrad here in the College of Arts and Sciences and graduated with my Bachelor’s in Psychology and Spanish for the Health Professions in May 2019. I am now getting my master’s degree in clinical Mental Health Counseling specializing in Children and Adolescents. So I’ve lived in Milwaukee for almost five years and most likely will stay here for a few years since I recently got engaged to my best friend and college sweetheart, René Martinez (Engineering, ’18).

I love talking about my family. My family means the world to me. I would not be here without them! Throughout my academic journey, my family has been nothing but supportive. My parents immigrated from Chihuahua, Mexico, in 1994 in search for a better life. They were not planning to stay for long, but then I came along and they realized the amazing opportunities I could have here. I have a younger brother, Salvador who is a senior in high school (I am trying really hard to convince him to come to Marquette!). My mom, dad, and brother are my inspiration and motivation to push through when times are tough.

My college experience has been different than what I expected. I am a first- generation college student. My parents were always and still are very supportive of my academic journey. I was a bit overwhelmed trying to figure out college applications and FAFSA, but my mom and dad were always there as support. I found a large community at Marquette of first-generation students. I found comfort in the programs and opportunities that were available at Marquette for students like me such as the Ronald E. McNair Scholar’s program that helped me conduct research in the Milwaukee community.

I currently am working at Ulta Beauty on the weekends and at the EDPL office. Come visit me for your makeup/skin care (IG: Jennymakeup96) or printing needs!

When I was looking for a master’s program, I was looking for three things: accreditation, fit, and social justice. I found all of those here! The College of Education prepares students with the knowledge and skills to excel in their fields. The college also prepares us to go into the world and fight for those who need a voice. I found my passion, working with the Latinx community, though the values that I learned here at Marquette. My ultimate goal in life is to create focus groups or support groups for children of immigrant parents. Our story is very unique and sometimes overlooked.

I am completing my second semester in the CECP master’s program. As part of the program’s and licensure requirement, I am completing my practicum and internship at Sixteenth Street Community Health Center. I am supervising an amazing woman and team of counselors who share my passion. My supervisor specializes in childhood trauma. It is difficult hearing the stories of children who have experienced trauma at such a young age. But seeing them flourish and grow makes it all worth it.

Advice that I would give to anyone in higher ed: DON’T GIVE UP! You are standing on the shoulders of giants who would move earth and sky to see you prosper. When times are tough, think about who you are doing this for… do it for yourself. You deserve it!

The Final Hui and Growing the Game

Laine Dolan, an elementary education and communications studies student in the College of Education is spending part of her student teaching semester abroad. She is teaching at Swanson School in Auckland, New Zealand, and is blogging about her experience. This post originally appeared on Laine’s own blog. 

This second-to-last week of the school year was filled with a lot of learning and fun. We have been working this entire term on passion projects. Each child was able to choose their passion that they wanted to create a project on. Passions ranged from baking and horses to robots and Minecraft. Each of the students had to pick a topic, create questions about the topic and find answers to some of their questions. They then created a poster and presented to the class their passion.

Knowing before I got to New Zealand that the students would be doing passions projects, I was able to gather a few things to bring to share my passion to the class. My passion is lacrosse, and this past week I was able to share it with my class and grow the game of lacrosse all the way to New Zealand. Although lacrosse does exist in New Zealand and they do have a national team, it is very rare to play and few people know the game. I gave my students a presentation on my passion and explained the game of lacrosse to them and my involvement in the sport. It was really exciting because the students were extremely engaged. I had not seen them sit so still and listen so well on the mat until that moment. Since I knew that students at Swanson would not know the game of lacrosse, I brought a little set with me. This set included a few sticks, goalie stick, ball and net. After explaining in my presentation all about boys and girls lacrosse, I was able to take students outside in small groups to teach them a little lacrosse. They all had a blast learning the new sport and asked every day after if we could play again. I absolutely loved sharing my passion with these kids and hope that some will continue to play after I leave.

Along with our passions projects we completed some missions in maths! Yes I said MATHS and not math because that’s what they call it here. Another highlight of the week (and, really, my entire trip) was going to the final Hui! Students from the kaphaka group sang Maori songs and performed traditional Maori dances, including the Haka, which is a war dance. This was one of the greatest experiences ever. Six weeks down and only one more week to go!

 

Getting to Know Our Students: Meet Halie Ecker

This year, we are spending time getting to know our students! You can get to know more of our students and our faculty/ staff on previous posts. Read on to meet Halie, one of our current M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program!

My name is Halie Ecker and I am an M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program, specializing in Addictions Counseling. I grew up in Moline, IL, which is part of the ‘Quad Cities’, which borders the Mississippi River between Illinois and Iowa. Both of my parents worked at John Deere in different departments for nearly 40 years – the headquarters are located in Moline. I moved to Milwaukee in August 2018 to attend Marquette’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. Previous to that move, I lived in Chicago for five years and worked as an actor and preschool teacher. I attended undergrad at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg on a full-scholarship for Division I Women’s Volleyball where I majored in Theatre and minored in psychology.

I have a small yet close family. I have an older brother who has three beautiful children, ages nine, three, and one and a half – being an Aunt is so much fun! My Grandma has had a huge impact on me – we are very close. She is 94 years old and she volunteers at multiple sites every week. I’ve never met anyone more kind, generous, or grounded. It’s very inspiring and humbling to have someone like her in my life.

I am currently interning at a hospital in a nearby, smaller city outside of Milwaukee. I help facilitate the Alcohol and Other Drugs Intensive Outpatient group therapy program, as well as the Mental Health program. I love working in groups and observing clients learning from and supporting one another. I believe group therapy offers kinds of healing that individual therapy cannot.

My favorite education experience thus far has been my internship course, which accompanies our on-site clinical hours for the last three semesters of our program. It is incredibly helpful in processing and learning from our on-site experiences when first working with clients. Being in a class where you feel safe to share your questions, fears, and successes with your professor and classmates in the beginning work of our counseling careers is an essential part of the education process that makes me grateful I chose to receive my Master’s degree from Marquette.

When I first had Dr. Callender as our Lifespan and Human Development professor, she shared with us her research interests, and I immediately knew she was someone I would like to work with. Dr. Callender has been such a great teacher in developing research, recruiting participants, and writing a manuscript. An additional quality that makes being on a research team with Dr. Callender, Diane, and Sydney is our monthly team-wellness activities! We try to schedule one outing per month to set the research aside and focus on bonding as a team. I think this has really enhanced our trust and quality of working on research projects together. Presenting at the Wisconsin Counseling Association 2019 Conference was an unexpected and beneficial learning experience. While I was nervous to present at a conference to other established counseling professionals and other graduate students, as a team we helped each other gain confidence in introducing, summarizing, and discussing our research project on the quality of life of substance abuse counselors and quality of clinical supervision. It was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend other students to get involved with research they are genuinely passionate about. Even if you find yourself on a research project that does not 100% align with your interests, consider it an experience that will prepare you to conduct your own research one day!

Some of my hobbies include reading and theater. I love to read! Reading at night before sleep is a part of a routine that calms my mind down and grounds me. I also love to see theater in Chicago – there is no activity that refuels and inspires me more than seeing -or performing- a play. While this is not specific to my hobbies, a professor in the program, Dr. Terry Young, gave our Psychopharmacology class some excellent advice as young counseling professionals that has stuck with me and that I regularly pass on to clients: diversify your hobbies. Invest your time and passion in a variety of hobbies that engage different parts of yourself, whether it be a type of exercising, intellectual stimulation, or creating/constructing something. You never know when an injury or a life-change may take away access to one of your hobbies, and it’s important to have other support systems to turn to during this time.