Certain skills are necessary for obtaining a job as a middle school guidance counselor, such as personality attributes, communication skills, and management abilities. These are attributes which I must possess in order to receive the position of the middle school guidance counselor for the Edison Public Township School. Much of my experiences throughout life have provided some of these various skills, however there are many aspects of this career which I still need to develop and obtain experience. Therefore, in order to obtain a career working at a middle school as a guidance counselor, and become of professional in the field, I must enhance the skills I already obtain through experience within the field of school counseling and experience …show more content…
Firstly, I must continue to work towards earning a Master's Degree in Counseling, and along the way to achieving this goal, it is necessary to apply for internships. Furthermore, many public school counselors must have a state-issued credential to practice, usually referred to as a certification or a license. Such a credential typically requires a master’s degree in school counseling and an internship or practicum completed under the supervision of a licensed professional school counselor. In addition to internships and supervised practice in the field, it is essential to acquire the ability to work with both troubled children as well as disabled children. I believe that volunteering at daycare centers as well as organizations that provide opportunities to assist disabled children, such as Children’s hospitals and charities. Volunteering and assisting children in these circumstances would be rewarding for both my qualifications for a job as a middle school counselor as well as quite rewarding for me, a change to help others in need and have an impact on their
I would like to pursue counseling as my career and become a successful leader in the field. I have always had a passion to assist people in emotional distress. As a qualified professional in the counseling field, I would be able to identify their problems as well as offer them the most appropriate solutions that may help them deal with their situations. However, working as a professional counselor requires that I possess the relevant skills and knowledge that would enable me to offer quality services in which I think that I can obtain the skills at Capella University. As a
1. Identifying my career goal and its pros and cons Middle school counselors work with children in grades 6-8 to help them develop social and communication skills necessary to navigate through difficult emotional situations. Additionally, school counselors coach students to use effective strategies to be academically successful.
His main roles are working with students who are a part of the advanced placement program; he is also responsible for working with students that are a part of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) educational program. These two programs have a rigorous curriculum; the AVID program consists of students that are enrolled in a rigorous course of study that will enable them to meet requirements for university enrollment. Besides these two programs Mr. Ryland is also in charge of the comprehensive competency-based guidance program, which provides students with a developmental and proactive guidance program. According to Ryland “the competency-based guidance program is to offer a system intended to assist all students with the development of their educational goals, personal goals, and even career goals” (2015). Mr. Ryland has worked hard for the position he holds as the head school counselor. While interviewing Mr. Ryland, this learner asked him about his professional development. Mr. Ryland began to discuss how “professional development is about the knowledge and skills a counselor gains to promote their job development” (2015). He says that promoting job development entails, attending conferences or training sessions. Professionals who seek personal development are the ones who desire for a long lasting career and personal growth in the counseling field. These individuals are often the ones who have an exceptional drive for the counseling field, and
The choices we make early in life have an enormous impact on our future. I have always known that I wanted to directly impact people’s lives and my personal experiences have set me on the school-counseling path. In the future, I would love to influence another generation of students to soar for their dreams.
My pursuit of becoming a School Counselor led me to apply to the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland, College Park. I am a former student at University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After graduating and teaching for two years in Prince George’s County Public Schools, I discovered my true passion lies not only in the classroom and students’ academics, but playing a pivotal role in the growth of their career, social, and personal development. Although I am no longer teaching full-time at the moment, my interaction with students from diverse backgrounds left an indelible responsibility to continue making a difference in our students. The objectives and mission of the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland can best help my goal of becoming an effective counselor and leader who is an agent of change to students and service the mental and emotional well-being of the younger generation.
Working with children is my passion and findings ways to improve their lives would be a personal goal of mine. During my time at the summer camp, I also had the opportunity to be interact with children in the foster care system. Being exposed to some of those children and learning about their lives made me want to know more about foster care system and ways i can be involved in their lives. The camp also made me reflect on how important it is to educate children who have a family member/parent incarcerated. This population sees prison as normal and a way of life, it is important to provide a different way of thinking in order for them to make better
I believe that I have many skills and experiences that will allow for me to be a great counselor. I have seen first hand, experienced first hand, and learned to deal with things first hand. I experience anxiety, but have learned how to cope and deal with it. It is not always easy when there are so many things that can be thrown at you through life. I have a lot of motivation, qualities, experiences, and goals that I can bring to counseling.
Additionally, research has been done that examines the perceptions of school counselor effectiveness, as well as the usefulness of available supervision (Borders & Usher, 1992; Henderson & Lampe, 1992). During a school counseling master’s education program, there is ample supervision, both on-site and through the university, during the practicum and internship field experiences (Peterson & Deuschle, 2006; Studer & Oberman, 2006). However, it has been noted that clinical supervision of school counselors post-graduation has not been utilized in the most effective way (Linton & Deuschle, 2006). Several studies have examined the reason behind the lack of effective supervision within a school setting. Some researchers suggest that there is incongruence between the daily tasks of school counselors and models of clinical supervision most often utilized (Luke, Ellis, & Bernard, 2011). There also appears to be limited research on whether school counselor directors are being provided “best practices” methods of formal education and training for their positions.
Many people ask themselves throughout their working career, “what do I want to be when I grow up.” My answer has never wavered since writing a career research paper during my junior year of high school: to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. This career aspiration has been predominantly motivated my desire to help other individuals. Caring and the desire to help others, as well as my community, is the motivation behind my desire to enter this field. When thinking about the need for counselors I initially think back to times of loneliness I experienced when I was younger.
I desire to pursue school counseling as my career to become an effective and successful leader in this profession. Why? I have always held a passion for touching the lives of the youth in a great and positive manner. A licensed school counselor entails helping students with academic achievement, personal/social growth and career development, ensuring students become the industrious, well-balanced adults of tomorrow. while, operating as a professional school counselor involves me obtaining the appropriate knowledge and skills that will support me with providing exceptional service for clients. I believe that I can obtain this intelligence here at Capella University. I comprehend that as a professional school counselor I would be expected
It was during my senior year of college that I decided I wanted to become a school counselor. Up until my senior year in college at Penn State I did not know where I wanted to take my career but I knew I wanted to work in a school setting and I knew that I wanted to work with kids. When it came time to choose an internship site for my last semester, I chose an alternative school called Buxmont Academy in Bethlehem where I would be shadowing two of their school counselors as well as engaging with the students themselves. I got to work with these children on a more personal level, gaining an understanding of their emotions, experiences, and difficulties, as most of these children came from broken homes, and drug and alcohol related settings. I am interested in becoming a school counselor because I want to help. When I become a counselor I want to make a difference in a child’s life whether that be by simply giving them support that they might not have in their lives or helping them make changes to better themselves and their futures. A counselor has such an important role in helping to shape young children and that is something that I want to be a part of.
Counseling is defined as ”the use of therapeutic strategies to help clients address personal concerns and mental health issues” (Nystul, 2016). Pursuing counseling as a career involves many years of formal study and certification or licensure. After receiving licensure to practice as a professional counselors it is a requirement to maintain involvement and certification in certain associations in order to hold your license. These association often require further education and/or professional practice in order to maintain membership in these associations. It is quite obvious that counseling requires a large amount of commitment and passion in order to pursue it as a career and maintain a title as a counselor. I have conducted an interview with a professional counselor in order to further understand the experience of being a counselor. The interview that I conducted explores the requirements of maintaining and receiving a counselling career, the experience of being a counselor, and what characteristics or skills a professional may have. The Individual who agreed to the interview was a counselor by the name of Susie Facio. Susie Facio, through this interview, will be giving us a look at what influenced her to become a counselor, what her work entails on a day to day basis, and what qualities and skills she has acquired in order to become a successful counselor.
Counseling has many components in different fields such as a school counselor, marriage and family counseling, addiction counseling, individual and private practices, and many more. For my project, I interviewed Mrs. Ross Freeman, a school counselor who talks about her journey of becoming an Elementary School Counselor. We discuss what the requirement and cost were to receive a license in the counseling field. We were also able to discuss the average salary and hourly wages for a counselor in WISD. Mrs. Freeman then goes on to enlighten me about the rewards, challenges, demands and frustrations of a school counselor.
Up to two to three years of work experience, internships and professional counselor outlook is a must. Internships are said to be the most important part on the path to becoming any sort of counselor. During these internships students are required to participate in assigned community group sessions, private-tutor individual sessions, present and organize group lessons, participate in student achievement activities and excel in mock/exit level interviews. By doing all this you will hopefully gain confidence in real a real life setting with a mentor constantly guiding you to the point that you no longer need them. Moreover it gives you a real life perspective of whether this career is for you or not while opening your eyes to your own abilities. And lastly after partaking in about two to three years under supervision, this gets you ready for the licensing exam (The National Counselor Examination or the “NCE”) which is a 200 question application based test that includes the entire curriculum and is timed for 4 hours exactly. The curriculum will test as following counseling issues, processes, assessments and diagnostics, professional development and consultation, professional practice, human growth and development, relationship work, group work, social and cultural diversity, research and evaluation, and ethics.
In my time spent volunteering at Safe Landing, I worked with and grew to know some of the children in social services. Seeing their struggles and hearing their stories grew my compassion to help others in their same circumstances. Through those experiences, there was always a line where I stopped and the social worker in me picked up. Most of my volunteer experiences I’ve had were aimed at helping youths learn life skills such as cooking, cleaning, and helping with their studies. The goal of this was to help the kids learn new skills and to present a positive alternative to mischief. I found immense joy from this but grew weary of not being able to do more. I lacked the power and resources to be able to make an even