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I plan on completing my master's degree in guidance counseling in May of 2019. After completing my Master of Education in guidance counseling, I would like to become a public school counselor at the middle or high school level. I would like to be a counselor in high school in order to help students pursue and persist a higher education.

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I was able to interview Lilia MaCon, a guidance counselor in a Title I elementary school in Austin, Texas. Ms. MaCon was previously a middle school counselor at a charter school in San Antonio, Texas. It was great being able to speak to her about her experiences because it provided great insight to the counseling profession. Of all the wonderful information Ms. MaCon was able to share with me, the top five things I learned were:

1. Confidentiality
A big part of successfully serving students includes building positive and trusting relationships with students. There are certain situations where confidentiality needs to be broken based on laws or professional ethics. Part of building this trust is ensuring that students are fully aware of and understand legal and ethical obligations for confidentiality.

2. Keeping a Professional Distance
When providing services to students it is important to only interact with students within professional responsibilities. Since students in middle schools are minors they don't really understand the boundaries between friend and counselor.

3. Providing Equal Access to all Students
Although sometimes it may seem that some students need more help than others, a counselor should always make themselves available to all students equally.

4. Respecting Cultural Differences
Living in cities with great cultural diversity it is easy to forget that not all cultures are built the same. Counselors should be aware and respect students cultural differences.

5. Educating students on Bullying and Abuse
Part of a counselors responsibility is educating students on bullying and abuse. Some students are not aware of what it means to be abused or bullied, as a counselor you can help them seek help.

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Option 2 Continued National School Board Association

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Option 2 Continued National School Board Association

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After looking through the National School Board Association website, two of the legal and ethical issues that I came across were equity and discrimination and special education and disabilities.

Equity and Discrimination
One of the current legal and ethical issues being discussed on the National School Board Association website is all school districts legal responsibility to provide an education to students regardless of legal status. With the recent influx of unaccompanied illegal children in the United States, school districts are struggling with children who do not have a parent or legal guardian in the United States.

Special Education and Disabilities
The legan issue currently being discussed is the reauthorization of the IDEA (individuals with Disabilities Education Act). IDEA was last reauthorized in 2004. Some of the issues which need reconsideration include teacher quality and effectiveness, discipline, and parental revocation of consent for special education services.

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Exploration Option 2 American School Counselor Association

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Exploration Option 2 American School Counselor Association

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When exploring the American School Counselor Association I came across a variety of legal and ethical issues that school counselors encounter daily. Two of the issues that stood out to me were those of academic development and child abuse prevention.

Academic Development
Part of a school counselor's responsibilities include implementing a comprehensive programs which will impact student's academic, career, and social/emotional development. A school counselor should understand that students should equally develop in all three areas in order to be successful. A counselor's responsibilities in order to achieve development across all three areas include: developing a safe and caring school culture, developing a school counseling program based on campus needs, and ensuring there is equal opportunity for all students to participate in rigorous content.

Child Abuse Prevention
It is a school counselor's responsibility to report suspected cases of child abuse to the proper authorities. In order to stop and prevent child abuse, school counselors should be familiar with the signs a student might be going through abuse. Abuse and neglect have effects on a student's behavior, academics and social/emotional needs. If a school counselor notices changes in students it is their ethical responsibility to report the abuse or neglect.

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The current legal and ethical issue that I chose to continue to learn about is that of academic development. I chose this topic because I'm interested in helping students reach their full potential and informing them about the many opportunities made available to them after high school graduation.

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in addition to the scholarly article, I've included a link which further explains what social, emotional, and academic development is. The website goes into great detail about what this development is and how it relates to the students' success.

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Research shows that when schools fully integrate social, emotional, and academic development into K-12 education, academic performance improves, students are more engaged in school, and-as a result-they are more likely to graduate high school and attend and graduate from college. The evidence also shows that students with healthy social and emotional development are more successful in the workforce and experience greater lifetime well-being. See our fact sheet for more research and data about social, emotional, and academic development's benefits for students.

In much the same way that academic skills can be cultivated, research also demonstrates that social and emotional competencies can be nurtured and developed over the course of a student's school experience.

The goal is to prepare students who-among other things-are able to connect with others, make responsible decisions, communicate, solve problems, think critically, be resilient, persevere, and work in teams-many of the same skills that employers tell us through surveys that they are looking for in their workforce.

While a range of language is used to describe this more comprehensive approach to education, the Commission is using social, emotional, and academic development because it emphasizes the need for schools to fully integrate social, emotional, and academic development. Surveys of teachers tell us that large majorities want this integration to boost the success of students.

WHY IT MATTERS

Research demonstrates that making K-12 education a true integration of social, emotional, and academic development matters because it gives students a better chance of thriving in school, career, and life.

A student's ability to focus, manage emotions, and stay engaged, plays a large role in his or her ability to perceive, process, and ultimately learn. Students who can work collaboratively and communicate effectively are better able to harness their academic knowledge to perform in school now and in the workplace later. At the same time, these competencies help young people build the strong relationships that are such a big part of leading a fulfilling life.

WHAT IT TAKES

The Commission's charge is to explore how to make social, emotional, and academic development part of the fabric of every school. But we know that effective social, emotional, and academic development doesn't happen on its own-it requires dedicated commitment from everyone. Just as families and communities foster social, emotional, and academic development, K-12 schools must play a role by incorporating explicit and intentional instruction and rethinking school design and culture. Doing this demands an education system that recognizes how social, emotional, and academic skills and competencies are complementary, and addresses each of them with equal fervor.

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What is Social, Emotional, and Academic Development?

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Social, emotional, and academic development is the integration of social and emotional development with academic learning in K-12 education. Research shows that when schools fully integrate social, emotional, and academic development into K-12 education, academic performance improves, students are more engaged in school, and-as a result-they are more likely to graduate high school and attend [...]

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Upon conducting my research on academic development, I came across a variety of scholarly articles describing the importance of academic, career, and social/emotional development. The article included below describes how critical the social/emotional development of a student is in order for them to reach their full potential.

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Angelo State University - Library Online Resources

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Unauthorized use is prohibited; Usage may be subject to security testing and monitoring; Misuse is subject to criminal prosecution; No expectation of privacy except as otherwise provided by applicable privacy laws.

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What I've Learned about Academic Development

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What I've Learned about Academic Development

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Academic development includes the social/emotional, career, and academic development of students. All three areas are interdependent and are critical to a student's success. In order for a student to reach their full potential they must develop equally in all three areas. Research shows that students who have good social/emotional skills are more likely to be successful in the future.

Academic development is important to educators because it is part of their responsibility to ensure that all students are given the necessary resources to be successful. Integrating social, emotional, and academic development in the K-12 setting gives students a better chance of being successful not only academically but also in situations outside of school. As a school counselor in the future, it will be my responsibility to implement a counseling program based on campus needs that caters to these areas of development.