Thanks, NFL, but I am not a 'dream crusher.' I am a professional school counselor.

I am so glad to learn about your program Player Care, which provides "medical, emotional, financial, social and community" assistance to players. I love the NFL recognizing and assisting with the "whole player" approach rather than just athletes performing their best on the field. After watching their video on player adversity during the Super Bowl, it was also surprising to learn of this program.

I'm a school counselor. Not a guidance counselor, like they called us in the Super Bowl video. The term "guidance counselor" is outdated and no longer used for our job descriptions or titles. Guidance counselors sought to guide high school students into college following graduation. The term is obsolete because we now have counselors at every level of education: pre-K to college. We aren't just guiding students toward college acceptance letters. We are teaching and reinforcing social-emotional and executive functioning skills and assisting students with reaching their full potential, regardless of barriers. Our job is loving and accepting students and helping them grow into their best versions. It is about assisting students to overcome adversity, the very skill the NFL highlighted in the video clip.

It bothered me and upset me to watch the clip. The Super Bowl video premiered on the last day of National School Counselor Week, one week each year devoted to advocating and appreciating School Counselors. The theme for this year was "Dream Big." My efforts on my small scale were diminished by the minute-long video seen across the world and your large-scale reach.

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I am not a dream crusher.

Do I talk to my students about backup plans when they tell me they want to play professional ball? I do. Just like you keep a safety on the field and teams learn several strategies to achieve a first down, I mention backup plans because the bankruptcy rate for the NFL within the first five years is incredibly high. I also know that any day an injury could kill their dream. I don't want my students' dreams to die. I want them to evolve, so if playing in the NFL does or doesn't pan out, how else can you keep the game you love in your life?

I am not a dream crusher. I teach students resilience, self-control, emotional regulation, grit and goal setting. Do you want to play in the NFL when you are 20? Excellent. . .how can I help you now to achieve that goal? I've bought a lot of kids' footballs over the years when they have said they want to be a football player but don't own a football. I cannot make assumptions about the NFL and what it looks for in players. Still, a player who can control their emotions, channel their energy, think on their feet and exhibit mental flexibility would be pretty desirable to a coach and a team. I am not a dream crusher, NFL.

I know the NFL is concerned about its image.

That's part of why I love the Player Care Program. It isn't a bunch of "dumb football players." The NFL has done a lot to kill that stereotype. And I know it is working on combating the issues with playing through injuries and brain damage from concussions. I know the NFL has recognized issues and are working to resolve these. I am doing the same thing with my job and my students. All school counselors are. We are trying to inform the public that we aren't "guidance counselors." We are advocating for small student: counselor ratios. Some of us work in multiple schools. Some of us are only half-time. We are fighting against this outdated image school counselors are only here to help with letters of recommendation and college applications. We are more than that . . . so much more, just like the NFL is more than playing a football game.

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The NFL has a much bigger platform than school counselors and educators.

We can't afford ads during the Super Bowl. There aren't businesses lining up a year in advance to sponsor our annual conferences. I am famous and loved in my school, but outside of school, the general public doesn't really care what I have to say. My salary does not allow me to campaign for school counselors. It doesn't always cover books and footballs, coats and mittens, extra food for a family in need, field trip costs or replacing school supplies, but those are what I get for my students in need. Schools don't have sponsorships.

So I understand the video was trying to promote and reflect on the challenges the Chiefs and Eagles teams had to overcome to make it to the Super Bowl. It's no small feat. But it bothered me that they took down school counselors in the quest to promote a desired image and combat the negative images the NFL has had. Millions of people saw that video clip. Millions of people will continue to think school counselors are "guidance counselors." Some parents will still be hesitant to let their students work with me because what is a guidance counselor doing in an elementary school? Some states will continue to ignore recommended counselor: student ratios, split counselors between multiple schools or not even hire counselors at the primary and intermediate levels.

The work you are doing with Player Care is so important. I am so proud of this initiative. But the work I am doing and my fellow school counselors is essential. Player Care had an opportunity to hold us up with them. Still, instead, they unintentionally insulted and demeaned school counselors' role and importance everywhere during a week when we worked so hard to advocate for ourselves.

I am not a dream crusher. But the NFL crushed some of my dream that school counselors be recognized for the effort, love and hard work they give out daily to our students and the NFL's potential players.

Kaet Barron is an elementary school counselor at Maryville Elementary in Louisville, Kentucky with Bullitt County Public Schools. She was the 2016 School Counselor of the Year and was invited to the White House for Michelle Obama's last event as first lady.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Thanks, NFL, but I am not a 'dream crusher.' I am a school counselor.