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I often have no problem sitting down and analyzing my performance. However, since we have not begun counseling, it was very hard for me to analyze how well I would perform certain tasks if given the opportunity now. I took the approach of placing myself in a school counselor’s shoes. How well would I reach these competencies if I had to do this job today? How much learning can I anticipate to reach these milestones in the future? Most of all, I paid attention to the underlying skills I was lacking. For example, one competency stated, “Explain the history of school counseling to create a context for the current state of the profession and comprehensive school counseling programs.” (ASCA, 96). For this specific behavior, I need to be familiar with the historical aspects of counseling, how it has transformed over the years, and what it is like now. Since I am not yet well-versed in the subject, I can assume that I would not perform as well on this task, and I can anticipate a few courses in the master’s program that may inform more in-depth about the history of school counseling.

Since I have little experience in counseling thus far, I found that, while I completed the assessment, I was lacking in areas that I expected to be lacking in. I recognize that being deficient in these areas is somewhat expected of us at this point in the program. However, understanding my deficits gives me the motivation to consistently work to build my knowledge in the program. It provides me with a baseline for my skills and points me in the direction I need to go to improve. Based on my results, I find the areas that I lack the most are related to textbook knowledge, such as legal and ethical principles, theories, and policies. These topics are more about historical facts rather than application. However, they are just as important as the application aspect of counseling. Knowing the background of the field, as well as the ethical codes and legal facets of counseling are necessary to the practice itself. The areas I found myself feeling most comfortable in were related to the application and development of lessons. Since I am currently an educator, I have experience planning, developing, and applying lesson plans to students. I feel like this will help me in the school counseling field because I have an understanding of the teacher’s point of view. I anticipate this to assist me in the connections I make with staff in advocating for student equality and well-being.

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Lemberger-Truelove, M. E., Ceballos, P. L., Molina, C. E., & Carbonneau, K. J. (2021). Growth in middle school students’ curiosity, executive functioning, and academic achievement: Results from a theory-informed SEL and MBI school counseling intervention. Professional School Counseling, 24(1_part_3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X211007654

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I believe that students are only as capable as the resources they have access to and the support that they receive in attaining better and more abundant resources. As a school counselor, I am responsible for advocating for equity in the opportunities students receive academically and personally.

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Harvard Implicit Bias Test Result/Reflection (Sexuality)

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Harvard Implicit Bias Test Result/Reflection (Sexuality)

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During the test, I was focused but relaxed. Since this was my first test, I was unsure what to expect. The directions seemed simple and direct, but I was confused as to how this would lead to results to suggest bias. Once I completed the process, the reflection with the results made that clear. My results for this test detected a slight automatic preference for straight people over gay people. However, this result definitely surprised me. I don’t consider myself to have any bias towards sexual preference, especially being a bisexual woman myself. When looking at the chart displaying the percentage of respondents with each score, I realize that my result places me in a median position. I hope that through more research and exposure to diversity in clientele, I am able to decrease this bias and push more towards no automatic preference between straight and gay.

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Advocating for better opportunities for students who fall on the negative end of discrepancies is an essential task for school counselors. As promotors of equal opportunities for all students, school counselors have a responsibility to consistently encourage positive change in our schools, communities, and states.

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This article stood out because it offered information regarding the importance of a social and emotional learning approach in school counseling, which I am specifically passionate about. It is very important for students to receive counsel for academic affairs. However, social and emotional learning has a specific focus on improving the way students establish relationships and make well-rounded decisions while achieving their goals. This article also focused on middle school-aged children, which is the age group that I am anticipating working professionally with in my career.

The experiment conducted accessed the level of growth in student curiosity, executive functioning, and academic achievement following a series of interventions concentrated in social and emotional learning techniques. The study was performed on a group of middle schoolers gathered between six classrooms in two separate schools. The study used three separate means to assess student growth – the Five-Dimensional Curiosity Scale, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, and academic testing through district exams. Results showed that students that were a part of the intervention increased levels of curiosity, executive functioning, and academic testing in English, math, and science. Because of this, the study seemed to be successful in its hypothesis that social and emotional intervention has a positive effect on academic and emotional growth.

Growing up, my school counselors were not as involved in my academic career as I feel they should have been. Because of this, I never established a strong level of trust with them. I never truly felt as though they would be beneficial to me in my academic life. However, I know some students at my school that had great relationships with the counselors. In my opinion, it depends on the needs of each student.

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In my professional career, I hope to provide a program that emboldens students in their journeys to learning to communicate effectively to achieve meaningful relationships and form healthy habits in their academic careers and personal lives. I will strive to provide assistance to students, encouraging them to reach their fullest potential academically and mentally and promoting personal growth through both successes and failures.

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Harvard Implicit Bias Test Result/Reflection (Weight)

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Harvard Implicit Bias Test Result/Reflection (Weight)

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This test intrigued me because I have always found that this bias is an understated one. Many people see preference of thin in comparison to overweight. Given that this was my second test taken, I understood how the process worked much better than I did the first time. I found myself much more comfortable with the process and more focused. My results for this test detected no automatic preference between fat people and thin people. This result did not surprise me. Since I have seen people around me struggle with bullying regarding their weight, as well as having struggled before myself, I did not consider that I would have any type of preference to a certain side. I thought that, if anything, I may have had a preference more leaning towards overweight over thin because I fall more into that category. My hope is to continue to keep a non-biased mindset in regard to weight in the future with my clients.

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I believe that every student has the capacity to achieve personal growth, given that they have the access to supportive resources and personnel. In my career, I hope to foster this social change to offer accommodating resources to students who do not have access to equal opportunities, while advocating for the equality that these students deserve.

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Types of bullying: National Centre Against Bullying. NCAB. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://www.ncab.org.au/bullying-advice/bullying-for-parents/types-of-bullying/