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

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.

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