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My philosophy of school counseling is to provide an inclusive culture for every student to thrive. I plan to follow the ethical standards and guidelines to communicate and collaborate with stakeholders and focus on being student-led in my practices and serving the students in the best way possible.

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My core beliefs stem from my experience as an English teacher. I have always believed that all students can achieve in school with the proper resources. Students currently walk into my classroom knowing it will be a challenging environment, but I want them to thrive, and I will do everything in my power to create an atmosphere where they can succeed. Sometimes, this includes collaborating with colleagues, communicating with parents/guardians, working one-on-one with students, forming study groups, implementing small-group strategies, etc. When students feel safe, comfortable, and cared for, they have the power to do the best they can. This also goes with recognizing that every student comes with different backgrounds, and it is crucial to celebrate those differences and create an inclusive culture. Transitioning this mindset to a school counselor role will have similarities and differences. My current mindset revolves around success in the English classroom; however, as a school counselor, this success will be determined from a broader perspective.

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I found the article about bullying in schools, specifically regarding students who identify as part of the LGBTQ community, to be very telling regarding the school counselor’s role as an advocate. School counselors should step into the role of being a resource for all students, and that includes being a social justice leader. I found the approach that if a student has at least one adult they can reach out to, the benefits of this are tremendous: “...youth experience fewer negative psychological, social, and health outcomes and more positive school outcomes, such as fewer absences from school” (Abreu et al., 2016, p. 331). This makes school counselors “visible advocates” (Abreu et al. 2016, p. 331). I particularly like that title because it infers that school counselors are advocating and that they are visibly present in students' lives.

Along with this thinking, it was essential to reflect on self-efficacy and how it connects to the success of programmatic service delivery. Reading about the research from the University of Central Florida study put this into perspective. To advocate for students, school counselors play an essential role in implementing interventions with staff and students when necessary: “...higher levels of self-efficacy relate to the higher occurrence of programmatic service delivery, which means an increased likelihood of higher student outcomes” (Mullen & Lambie, 2016, p. 315). This cause-and-effect relationship is helpful to know to plan for the future to find success in advocating for students.

References

Abreu, R. L., Black, W. W., Mosley, D. V., & Fedewa, A. L. (2016). LGBTQ Youth Bullying Experiences in Schools: The Role of School Counselors Within a System of Oppression. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 11(3–4), 325–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2016.1214092

Mullen, P. R., & Lambie, G. W. (2016). The Contribution of School Counselors’ Self-Efficacy to Their Programmatic Service Delivery. Psychology in the Schools, 53(3), 306–320. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21899

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The ethical standards work as a guide to keep counselors consistent in their practice and follow legal procedures. There is also a communication piece within the standards that will ensure everyone is informed about the practices of the school counselor. I like how it focuses on the student and serves the student in the best way possible. This will be beneficial as a future school counselor because it is clear and concise.

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Conflict Resolution Lesson Plan Template

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Conflict Resolution Lesson Plan Template

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Completing this reflection was an interesting experience. I originally thought I would find myself being much more confident with the standards, but I was quite surprised that I have a lot of work to do in my future. I noticed that my results from the “Mindsets” category were relatively high, but I think this is a direct result of my being a classroom teacher for the past ten years. Once I started reflecting on the “Behaviors” categories, I noticed my comfort was lacking (American School Counselor Association, 2019).

Focusing on the areas I did well on, I believe every student can learn and succeed and should have access to a quality education. I am also very comfortable engaging and interacting with parents, colleagues, administration, etc. Another area I scored high on was the B-PF 6 Standard. Working as an English teacher, it has been a natural way for my classroom to celebrate and respect all people with different backgrounds. I feel comfortable “understanding the impact of cultural, social, and environmental influences on student success and opportunities” because of my experience working with students and their families from grades 7-12 over the past ten years (American School Counselor Association, 2019, p. 97). The final standard I felt comfortable with was part of B-SS1. The second half of this standard focuses on creating lesson plans that are effective and aligned with standards. This is a skill I have honed over the years, and I feel very confident in creating/delivering lesson plans; however, I know these lessons will look different as a school counselor (ASCA, 2019).

Looking at the areas I will need to improve, the list is pretty long! I originally thought I would have a better grasp on this due to my teaching experience, but this gave me a huge reality check. I will say a trend I noticed was simply not being educated on many of the terminologies, ethics, theories, policies, etc. I know this will come with time, which made me even more excited to get deeper into my grad work in the program. One of the behavior standards that stood out to me was from B-PF 1, which focused on theory and evidence-based techniques used by school counselors. I did not feel confident with this standard, but this gives me a goal to ensure I work specifically on this standard in my future classes and experiences (ASCA, 2019).

An example of how I can improve in some of these areas is to seek the advice of professionals who are within my reach. I work with two highly qualified counselors daily and look forward to my interview with one of them. I have learned over the years how important it is to create relationships with people who will make me a better professional (and human), so I look forward to continuing this with the future school counselors I meet. I also know using my professors’ resources that are given to me in my classes will be very beneficial. I find immense joy in setting a goal for myself and working to reach that goal, so I already have plans in my future classes to soak in all the information available.

Reference

American School Counselor Association (2019). The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs, Fourth Edition. Alexandria, VA: Author.

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The goal of this lesson is to help middle-grade students handle conflict resolution. I like this lesson's layout because it allows students to learn the skills first and then perform skits to practice them. Role-playing can sometimes be uncomfortable for students, but it puts it into perspective when they are asked to act out the scenarios. One of the terms I loved was for the 8th graders to create a “conflict shield.” This gives the idea that they will have tools in their back pocket to bring out when encountering a conflict.

Something that would be challenging when implementing this lesson is that middle school students sometimes lack the maturity to take things seriously. There would have to be a lot of behavior management strategies in place to make this successful. I also think anticipating some behaviors and how I would respond would be necessary. Conflict resolution can be challenging for this age group because their brains are still developing, and they struggle with impulse control; however, the lesson would be worth the time effort.

Reference

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2016). https://dese.mo.gov/media/pdf/se2-6-8th-grade-unit-3-all-units

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"Districtwide Initiative to Improve Tier 1 With Evidence-Based Classroom Lessons" Article Summary

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"Districtwide Initiative to Improve Tier 1 With Evidence-Based Classroom Lessons" Article Summary

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The article I chose to read and summarize was titled “Distri (1)