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After graduating with a degree in Guidance & Counseling, I hope to work in the public school system in East Austin. My ideal position would be helping high school students devise plans for post-graduation, whether it be an hourly job, long-term career, college, or vocational school.

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I spoke with the counselor at the school at which I work and I asked her about some of the more relevant legal and ethical issues she faces in her career. Here is what I learned:

1. School safety is huge - Students can get hurt in many ways at school - from the playground, to rough housing, to mishandling by an adult (accidental or purposeful). In each case it is imperative that the adult have some accountability. A broken arm on the playground could come down to negligence. A fight between two students, even if out of sight from adults, could fall in that category as well. In any case, the student or parents could place blame on the staff member, and if that happens, the district will often take the family's side.

2. Sexual impropriety is serious - Jena and I work in an elementary school, but this issue can be more prevalent in middle and high schools. Jena said that adults, especially males, should keep doors open at all times, stay in view of security cameras, and be extremely mindful of physical touch, even when it seems innocent such as a hand on someone's shoulder.

3. ICE is scary for Hispanic families - Many students from our school are Hispanic or Latino. Jena is asked all the time by parents whether their children would remain in school if they were deported. While she doesn't have answers to many of these questions (the laws are apparently quite complicated and agents enforce them in some places but not in others), she says its a looming threat every day for these families.

4. Guns - Fortunately no one she knows has had to be in a situation with an active shooter, but Jena herself thinks about it all the time. She has pushed for clearer protocols at our school in the instance an active shooter is present.

5. Union membership - Jena says many teachers and staff choose to pay dues to belong to a union for some of the reasons listed above. Unions offer legal counsel and defense in the case a staff member is facing a damaging accusation. They also lobby for higher pay and other rights.

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https://www.educationdive.com/news/schools-equipping-students-with-blue-collar-job-skills/540473/

This article is pertinent to my future plans. It discusses how a school district in Wisconsin is pushing for more training for high school students in blue collar and service jobs. Their thinking is that right out of school, a student could have a decent paying job, have skills, and make money rather than spend it on loans and tuition (Harper, 2018).

The program is touted as a potential win-win for both local businesses and the district. The businesses will benefit from trained employees while schools can implement a program that helps students (Harper, 2018).

Reference
Harper, Amelia. (2018). Schools equipping students with
blue collar job skills. Education Dive. Retrieved from
https://www.educationdive.com/news/schools-equipping-
students-with-blue-collar-job-skills/540473/

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https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/10/10/feds-probing-transgender-policy-alleged-assault.html

In this article, Evie Blad investigates whether a school's transgender policy contributed to a sexual assault on a female by a male "who identifies as gender fluid" (Blad, 2018, para. 2).

This underscores the difficulties inherent in addressing transgender issues that effectively satisfy all parties. Multiple civil rights organizations came to this school in Georgia to represent the parties involved. This type of debacle will become more and more common as gender norms continue to change.

Reference
Blad, Evie. (2018). Feds probing transgender policy alleged
assault. Education Week. Retrieved from
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/
10/10/feds-probing-transgender-policy-alleged-
assault.html

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I think it is incredibly important for myself as a future counselor to be aware of how to identify signs and symptoms of physical and sexual abuse.

I have never really had to confront this issue, fortunately, so I find it compelling that I should not only learn more about it, but understand best practices for responding to it.

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Here is a link to the academic source, found through Angelo State University's online library:
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.easydb.angelo.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=44dc0f44-340b-4e43-a4e7-678434a22155%40sessionmgr102

The article by Lisa Hinkelman and Michelle Bruno is titled:
Identification and Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse: The
Role of Elementary School Professionals

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Here is a link to an article featured on counseling.org:
https://www.counseling.org/docs/disaster-and-trauma_sexual-abuse/long-term-effects-of-childhood-sexual-abuse.pdf?sfvrsn=2

The article by Melissa Hall and Joshua Hall is titled:
The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse:
Counseling Implications

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Hall & Hall point out that up to 33% of women and "12 to 18% of men were victims of childhood or adolescent sexual abuse" (Hall & Hall, 2011, para. 1). This is a substantial portion of the population. It is likely that many cases of abuse go unreported as well. The authors go on to mention that sexual abuse comes in many forms and that a defining characteristic is the dominance or exploitation it involves by one over another (Hall & Hall, 2011).

Bruno and Hinkelman posit that these percentages translate to millions of abuse cases each year in the United States. The most common age range of victims is eight to 12 years old (Bruno & Hinkelman, 2008). This is an age when a child's trust of adults is peaking. Although that is the average age, clearly this issue spreads across all grade levels and even into college.

It is of paramount importance for educators to be able to recognize signs of abuse. Indicators such as suffering grades and complaints of pain can point to sexual abuse (Bruno & Hinkelman). But it can still be hard to tell, especially since the most common sexual abuses occur among family members (Hall & Hall). A counselor needs skill, experience, and education on recognizing when a child is in distress and coaxing the information from them.

References
Bruno, M., & Hinkelman, L. (2008). The long term effects of
childhood sexual abuse: Counselor implications.
American Counseling Association. Retrieved from
https://www.counseling.org/docs/disaster-and-
trauma_sexual-abuse/long-term-effects-of-childhood-
sexual-abuse.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Hall, J., & Hall, M. (2011). Identification and reporting of
child sexual abuse: The role of elementary school
professionals. Elementary School Journal. Retrieved
from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.easydb.angelo.edu/
eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=b5b3dfba-7d36-480d-
a6c1-c49bb1464a13%40sdc-v-sessmgr01