Author: Julie Mack
Email: mackteach@aol.com
Rated: PG-13
CLASS: EdCns 524 – Practicum 1
Assignment: Select a fictional character and, using the techniques you have practiced in this class this semester, write a “session” between the character and you, the counselor.
COUNSELOR’S NOTES
Clark Kent is a mild mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper. He has been coming to me for several sessions now to examine and clarify his values and priorities. He is vaguely dissatisfied with his priorities, but has never done much about examining his current values in any serious way until recently. He is not married and fears that he will never have a relationship similar to what he has seen between other people.
Clark has a sense that he doesn’t quite “fit in” with the people around him — a sense that has been with him for much of his life. In previous sessions, we’ve talked about Clark’s move from Smallville to Metropolis. We’ve also talked about the fact that he’s a foundling, adopted by a childless couple who raised him from infancy in a loving and caring environment. While he’s comfortable with the fact that he’s adopted and that his birth parents are dead, the feeling of being “different” is still very strong.
Clark admits that his “work” seems to be a primary value. He has two jobs. He says: “I work a lot. There’s literally no day I get up and say to myself, ‘Well, today is a day off and I can just do what I want.’ It sounds terrible when I put it that way, but I’ve been going on like that for quite a while now. It seems that I should do something about it, but it’s obviously my choice. I’m doing what I do freely. It’s not like someone has a gun to my head.”
I’ve also gotten the impression that Clark has other concerns or issues that he would like to discuss beyond examining his values and priorities. We’ll have to see.
* * * * *
TODAY’S SESSION
“What would you like to talk about today, Clark?”
Clark Kent shrugged his shoulders and fidgeted slightly in his chair. “I’m not sure where to start today. What do you suggest?”
“It’s up to you, Clark. We’re here to talk about whatever is on your mind. In previous sessions, we’ve talked about moving from Smallville to Metropolis, your excitement and uncertainty. Do you want to talk about that some more?”
Clark shook his head. “No, not really. I mean, I’ve been in Metropolis for just over three years now, and I’m still as excited about being here as I was the day I stepped off the bus from Smallville. It’s everything I’ve always imagined it would be. There’s so much going on, so much to see and do. That hasn’t changed. And I’m not uncertain any more. I know that this is where I want to live and work.”
“And your job as a reporter for The Daily Planet adds to your sense of excitement?”
Clark smiled. “Definitely. It’s something I’m good at and I enjoy my work.”
“Let’s go with that, Clark. Reporting is something you’re good at.”
He hesitated for a moment. “Well, the writing is what I’m really good at. Mostly human interest stories. That’s my strength.”
“I would have thought that the investigation into a story would be one of your strengths as well. In just three years you’ve already won several journalism awards.”
Clark’s smile stayed on his face even as he shook his head. “It’s something I do well, yes. But there are other reporters who are much better at it.”
“For example.”
“Well, like my partner, Lois Lane, for example. She’s tenacious. Once she gets a story, she doesn’t let go of it until she’s satisfied that she’s turned over every rock that can be hidden under.”
“Sounds to me like it’s a pretty successful partnership. Miss Lane writes about the facts of the investigations that you both do and you bring in the human aspects of the story.”
Clark nodded. “That’s exactly how it is.”
“And you like this arrangement?”
“Yeah, I do. It suits our strengths.”
“Coming back to strengths, do you have others? You’ve mentioned your writing skills and your investigative skills are certainly another strength. Is there anything else that you’re good at?”
Clark’s smile faltered and he fidgeted once more in his chair. The silence extended for several minutes as nothing was said. Finally, Clark cleared his throat and brought his hand to the knot of his tie, slightly adjusting it. “Well, there are a couple of things …” he began, a hesitancy in his voice.
Clark’s gaze dropped away. After several minutes of staring at his shoes, he looked up, his eyes serious and intent. “Do you always have to take notes?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t, Clark. If you’d rather I didn’t, I won’t.”
He nodded. “And … you mentioned something about confidentiality the first time I was here. Does that mean that everything I say to you is confidential?”
“Unless you tell me that you’re about to commit bodily harm to either yourself or another person, anything that you say stays in this office.”
Clark nodded slowly, his body visibly relaxing. “Then … there is something I want to talk about.”
I put down my pad and pen. “Go ahead.”
He cleared his throat once more. “I think it was at our second session that I mentioned I have a second job.”
I nodded and waited. Clark stared at me for several long seconds before taking a deep breath and looking directly at me. “My second job involves a lot of other … strengths … that I have. Y’see, I’m Superman.”
I nodded slowly, digesting the information that Clark Kent had just revealed, giving myself some time to see how this all fit together with other information that we had discussed previously. He’s Superman. That certainly explained Clark’s feeling of being different. Like everyone else in Metropolis, I read The Daily Planet’s articles on Superman’s exploits with avid interest.
“That’s a pretty big second job.”
Clark gave me a shaky smile. “Tell me about it. Superman always seems to be needed at the most inopportune times. I can’t tell you how many lame excuses I’ve had to give Lois right in the middle of an investigation so that he can stop a bank robbery or stop an asteroid from destroying the Earth.” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe that I told her I had to get my cheese-of-the-month delivery.”
I chuckled a bit. It did sound like a flimsy excuse. “I’m assuming that Miss Lane doesn’t know that her reporting partner, Clark Kent, is also Superman?”
Clark shook his head. “I don’t think she does. The only ones that know are my parents … and now you.”
“I read the article that Miss Lane wrote when you first appeared in Metropolis. Are you really from another planet?”
He nodded and recited the phrases that had been written in The Daily Planet. “Strange visitor from another planet. Faster than a speeding bullet. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. More powerful than a locomotive. Yada yada yada. Yeah, it’s all true.”
“These are your strengths?”
Clark shook his head. “I don’t see them as that, but I suppose other people would. No, these are things that I’m able to do. I don’t know how to explain it other than my home planet, Krypton, had a red sun. Apparently the yellow sun here gives me … enhancements. Certain … powers”
“Powers beyond those of human beings. And these … enhancements … these are what make you feel ‘different’?”
“Wouldn’t you? If you had my powers, wouldn’t you feel different?”
“I suppose I would. But, we’re talking about how YOU feel, Clark, not me. How long have you felt that you were different?”
He thought for a moment. “Since about the age of 13. All of a sudden, I was getting stronger and stronger until one day I was able to lift the tractor with one hand completely off the ground.”
“Well, that’s certainly not typical for someone that’s 13. That must have been frightening.”
“A bit. But I remember being more amazed and wanting to show the other kids what I could do.”
“Did you?”
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I decided to keep it a secret. I was always doing better than the other kids in school were and they’d kid me about being a brain and teacher’s pet. This would have been something else for them to kid me about. We were all friends, but even friends can be merciless. As my other powers developed, I kept them a secret from everyone as well. Except from Mom and Dad.”
“So, you’ve kept these powers a secret for all these years, until three years ago. You’ll have to tell me later what made you change your mind. But for now, why the costume?”
“I didn’t want Clark Kent to become a public figure. Superman’s better able to handle all the questions and reporters. Superman doesn’t have anything to lose.”
“What does Clark Kent have to lose?”
He thought for a moment. “His life. His anonymity. The normal things that everyone can do. Clark Kent can go to the movies, go out to dinner, go out on a date if he wants to. Clark Kent can sit around in dirty jeans and be a couch potato if he wants to. Clark Kent has a job. Superman can’t do any of that stuff without it being plastered all over the papers and television. He’s a walking media event.”
He paused. When he continued, his tone had changed to one of slight embarrassment. “He’s even got an action figure. Like I said, he’s a walking, talking media event.”
I decided to focus on something that I had picked up on while Clark was talking. “Clark, I notice that when you talk about Superman, you use ‘he’.”
He looked at me in surprise. “I do? I didn’t realize that.”
“Any thoughts on that?”
“That I talk about Superman in the third person? I hadn’t really thought of it before now.”
“OK. We’ll get back to that later. For now, I’d like to get a better idea about how you feel about Superman and Clark Kent. So, let’s talk about both of them in the third person. Want to give it a try?”
Clark shrugged his shoulders. “Sure. Kind of looking at myself objectively, right?”
“Exactly. So, let’s start. Clark, why is Superman here? I don’t mean here in my office, but here … on Earth … in general.”
Without hesitation, Clark answered. “To fight for truth and justice.”
“Fair enough. Any idea why Clark Kent leans toward human interest stories?”
He smiled broadly. “That’s easy, too. Because unless people know about what they can do to help others, nothing will get done.”
“So, would it be fair to say that Clark Kent writes about the injustices that are done by people to others?”
Clark nodded slowly. “Yeah. I’d say that’s fair.”
“So Clark Kent fights for justice through his writing.”
“Right.”
“By exposing the truth to the light of day?”
“If necessary, yes.”
“So Clark Kent fights for truth and justice.” I paused for a moment to let my comment sink in. “Just like Superman.”
My last statement took him by surprise, a frown coming over his face. “I’m not sure I understand. ‘Just like Superman’?”
“Well, let’s look at what we’ve been discussing. You finish the statements, OK?”
“OK.”
“Superman is here to …”
“Fight for truth and justice.”
“Clark Kent writes human interest stories to …”
“Fight for truth …” Understanding dawned. “… and justice.” He finished.
“Clark, do you remember why you came to see me in the first place?”
He nodded. “I wanted to look at my values and priorities. To clarify them.”
“Do you value the truth, Clark?”
“I do. It’s very important to me. Lying is something that I don’t usually do … well, unless there’s a job for Superman, and then I’m really uncomfortable not being able to tell Lois the truth.”
“You don’t like to lie?”
Clark shook his head. “Lying, for Superman, should never be an option.” He sighed briefly. “Unfortunately, Clark Kent sometimes has to … stretch the truth.”
“The cheese-of-the-month club?”
Clark nodded. “Yeah. I don’t like to come up with excuses, you can tell I’m not very good at them. But, the alternative is telling Lois what that I’m Superman.”
“Would that be so bad?”
“Maybe, maybe not. She kind of has an infatuation with Superman.”
“Your partner is infatuated with you?”
“No. She’s infatuated with Superman, not me.”
I nodded. His tone and body language had changed slightly as he talked about his partner, Lois Lane. At first, he had a slight smile on his face, and I got the sense that he was slightly embarrassed about Miss Lane’s infatuation. But, as he emphasized that she was infatuated with Superman and not Clark Kent, I began to hear some frustration in his voice.
“How does her infatuation make you feel?”
Clark thought about my question for a moment. “She doesn’t see me as anything other than her work partner. I mean, she’s a beautiful woman and I’ve thought about asking her out on a date, but there never seems to be a good time. We’re either working on a story or Superman’s needed somewhere.”
He ran his hand through his hair, letting out another sigh. “It’s very frustrating.” He looked at me. “I’d rather not talk about it right now. Is that all right?”
I nodded, making a mental note to try and get back to the topic of Lois Lane at another time. “Sure. Let’s talk about justice. Is that something else that you value?”
Clark nodded. “Absolutely. My parents raised me with a strong sense of right and wrong. Not that everything is black and white, mind you. But, I can’t just stand by knowing that I can do something.”
“So your sense of justice is tempered with compassion for people?”
“I think so.”
“Truth, justice, compassion. These are some of the things that Clark Kent values?”
His face grew thoughtful for a moment. Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, I’d say that I value those things.”
“Sounds to me like Clark Kent and Superman share some of the same values.”
“Truth and justice.”
I nodded. “Truth and justice. And compassion.” I checked my watch. We still had a few more minutes left in the session. “One more thing before we wrap it up for today, Clark. And I want your gut reaction answer. Don’t think about the question, just answer it, OK?”
Clark nodded.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Clark Kent.”
“And what about Superman?”
“Superman is what I do.” He sat back in the chair, apparently a bit stunned by his answers. A soft smile came on his face. “So, am I cured?”
I chuckled. “There was never a question of ‘curing’ you, Clark. You wanted some value clarification. I think you’ve gotten some of that.”
“Yeah, I think I have.”
“There’s still the concern you have about priorities. I’d like to give you a little task to do, to think about until we see each other next week.”
“OK.”
“I want you to make a list of the top five things Clark Kent wants out of life. And the top five things Superman wants out of life.”
“Top five?”
“Top five.”
“OK.”
“Great. So, just to wrap things up for today, you’ve discovered that Clark Kent and Superman have some of the same values, using their strengths to fight for truth and justice. Clark Kent uses his writing skills and the resources available to him through The Daily Planet. Superman uses his public image and the resources available to him through our yellow sun. Is that pretty much what we discussed today?”
Clark nodded. “Pretty much.”
I nodded and got up from my chair. “We also discussed how being having these two … jobs … can be at times frustrating, especially in terms of a personal relationship with Miss Lane. Did I get that right?”
Clark grinned sheepishly. “Yeah. You definitely got that right.”
I nodded. “And for next week, you’ll think about the top five things you want out of life, both as Clark Kent and as Superman.”
“Right.”
Speaking to Clark over my shoulder, I walked toward the office door to open it. “Same time next week?”
“Um …”
I turned back. Clark had stood up with an apologetic look on his face. “Sorry, but I need to use your window.”
“Excuse me?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but thought otherwise. Quickly, he began to spin, a whirring sound filling the office. When he stopped spinning, where Clark Kent had originally been, now stood the red-and-blue costumed person known as Superman. “I heard a cry for help. Sounds like a job for Superman.”
I nodded, surprised into speechlessness. He walked to my office window, unlatched it, and stepped up onto the ledge. He turned back and smiled, a bit of Clark Kent showing through. “See you next week.”
He flew out the window; papers on my desk rustling from his take off.
I walked over to the window, closed it, and went to my desk. Sitting down, I let out a long breath. Who would have known that a pair of glasses could make that much of a difference in a person’s appearance? Clark Kent is Superman. Wow. Next week would be interesting to say the least. Especially looking at what he … they … want out of life.
THE END