After you have completed the readings for this unit, select one of the ethnicities presented (Asian, African-American, Latino, Native, or Pacific Islander Americans) in the readings and outline the factors you would consider in determining the level of risk to assign to the following student. Discuss ways in which a school counselor can support a student facing the following challenges:
You are a first-year counselor at a high school and a student is sent to your office by his teacher. The teacher has sent an e-mail sharing that she thinks his journal entries are “disturbing,” and she feels he is distancing himself from the kids she normally sees him hanging out with in the halls. She wants someone else to talk to him because he won’t answer her questions and she is afraid he will hurt himself.
In the conversation, you discover that he lives with his mother and grandmother; however, he rarely sees his mother because she works two jobs. His grandmother is his primary caregiver, but she is very ill and not expected to live much longer. He is also doing poorly in his classes and is embarrassed by his current grades. He will not be able to try out for the basketball team, and that is the one thing he truly cares about. What are the specific risk factors present? How can a school counselor help him navigate the personal crises he faces?