-Unlimited potential: I believe that every student possesses unique talents, abilities, and untapped potential. Regardless of their background or circumstances, each student can achieve success.

-Resilience and Growth: I believe in students' resilience and capacity for personal growth. With the proper guidance and support, they can overcome challenges, learn from setbacks, and emerge stronger.

-Diversity and Inclusion: I believe in the value of diversity and inclusion. Recognizing and respecting student differences is essential for creating a nurturing and enriching educational environment.

I think school counselors should follow three critical aspects of ethical standards: confidentiality, non-discrimination, and informed consent. I am not listing specific ethical codes because I want to generalize these topics instead of limiting them to a few standards. With confidentiality, it is essential to respect and uphold the confidentiality of student information to create a safe and trusting environment. Non-discrimination ensures fair and equal treatment for all students, irrespective of their background, ethnicity, gender, or socio-economic status. It is tough to create equality in any setting, but treating every student equally, regardless of their background, generates a more equitable learning situation for all the students. Lastly, informed consent prioritizes informed consent and involving students and their families in decision-making, promoting autonomy and collaboration.

After completing the School Counselor Competency Assessment (ASCA, 2019), using the Likert scale of 1-5 to self-assess my skills and comfort level on each item, I realized how little I used to know about being a school counselor and how much I have learned in the first seven weeks of this class. Before this class, I most likely would have only been comfortable with the first section of the test: Mindsets. To start pursuing a career in school counseling, you must have the mindset and then learn a school counselor's tasks, purpose, theories, and duties. I am confident I have the proper mindset and beliefs, but I will need to establish my technical skills and educational foundations better. As I continue my coursework through this program at Walden, I expect to become more comfortable and confident in all the assessment competencies. I genuinely look forward to improving and learning more about being a school counselor. Through the work in this class and continuing the program with Walden, I also believe I will be able to confidently align my strengths with the guidelines/standards set in the ASCA National Model.

Areas to Improve

The most significant area I realized I need to improve is my ability to apply school counseling and learning theories. I am familiar with a few mental health counseling theories, but they do not necessarily apply to school counseling. To improve this, I plan on familiarizing myself with theories and learning how to use them to build effective plans. By learning theories, I will also be able to justify my actions as a school counselor, promote my ideas better, and showcase why previous plans are ineffective. I also can improve my comfort with theories when I apply them to real life when I start practicing in an actual school. 

Strengths

As I stated earlier, I showed great strength in the mindset section. Having this mindset is why I wanted to pursue a career in school counseling. I felt very comfortable with each part of the section, which was all reinforced with the knowledge I learned in this class. I also did well in areas involving communication and collaboration. I believe I will succeed at working with administrators, advisory councils, teachers, faculty and staff, families, school boards, and stakeholders. Working with any of these individuals will be beneficial in promoting the well-being of the students, which is clearly the main goal. 

References

American School Counselor Association. (2019). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Alexandria, VA: American School Counselor Association

The article highlights the significance of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in the United States, emphasizing the growing demand for STEM professionals. It acknowledges that the current employment statistics project a shortage of over 1 million STEM workers by 2030. Despite the potential for positive job marketability and higher salaries for STEM graduates, the reflection underscores the existing disparities in gender and racial representation within STEM occupations. The role of professional school counselors is highlighted as crucial in addressing these disparities. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model defines their role in promoting STEM education and careers as essential. The article emphasizes the importance of school counselors in encouraging students to take advanced math and science courses, providing information on the benefits of STEM education, and improving self-efficacy through mentoring and counseling.

Summary of the Article:

The concern for diversity in STEM is brought to the forefront, with particular attention to the underrepresentation of women and minorities. The disparities begin as early as high school, where specific groups face challenges in pursuing higher-level STEM coursework. Stereotype threat, lack of support, and limited opportunities contribute to gaps in advanced STEM skills and hinder interest in STEM careers. Despite the potential impact of school counselors, the article acknowledges the barriers they face, including the inadequacy of education around STEM, challenges in supporting parents from marginalized racial identities, and insufficient resources. The intersectionality of race and gender disparities in STEM is emphasized, and the need for targeted interventions at the high school level is discussed.

Within the article, a study was conducted to focus on understanding the lived experiences of high school counselors who support girls' and underrepresented minority students' interests in STEM. The research questions aim to explore these experiences and the contextual factors, including the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Four themes were identified in the analysis of the high school counselors’ experiences: 1) professional knowledge of issues of diversity in STEM; 2) training related to the needs of underrepresented students in STEM; 3) active engagement or taking an active role in supporting underrepresented students’ STEM career interests; and 4) barriers related to supporting underrepresented students’ STEM interests, including COVID-19, school, administration, students’ self-efficacy, and language.

In summary, the article underscores the importance of addressing diversity and inclusion in STEM, recognizing the pivotal role of school counselors, and acknowledging the challenges posed by traditional disparities and the unique circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. By looking into the decline in STEM careers, even though they are in high demand, it is better to address the root of the problem with those of younger ages. Real social change can start to happen by addressing it in high school with the help of school counselors.

Comparing the Article with Personal Experiences with School Counselors:

I remember getting called to the counselor’s office in high school to discuss career planning. Fortunately, I already knew what career path I wanted to go down, or so I thought. As time passed, I kept changing my mind and have since attempted many different careers, but none have stuck with me. I have always excelled at math and problem-solving but never tried a career with those skills in mind. Instead of the school counselor challenging me to help me find a true passion, I felt compelled to believe I knew what I was saying as a teenager so the counselor could move on to the next student. If she had opened me up to careers in STEM, I might be on a different path than I am today. Maybe I could have completed different schooling or have already found what I wanted to do until I retired. If my high school counselor had read about the benefits of introducing students to STEM (especially those who are underrepresented like women), then many of my school's students could have pursued different careers. This also would have provided a more social change on a wider scale by having the knowledge of all the benefits that STEM offers.

This lesson is designed to assist students in developing the knowledge and skills to make a sound decision about their educational and career goals. The lesson is a multi-step process where each step is applied to a grade level in high school (ninth through twelfth). The ultimate outcome desired is that all students will develop and maintain a rigorous and relevant personal plan of study that will guide them into a successful post-secondary transition. The three main goals are: 1) Applying career exploration and planning skills to achieve life career goals. 2) Knowing where and how to obtain information about the world of work and post-secondary training/education. 3) Applying skills for college and career readiness and success.

Possible Challenges when Implementing this Lesson:

The recommended time for implementing this lesson is 55-70 minutes for each step. Finding that much time to allot for this type of career planning can be challenging, especially since it is a multi-step process where that time is needed multiple times throughout the high school career. Another challenge could be, depending on the school size and the number of students, following through with fact-checking the students' work and ensuring everything is done to high standards. It is one thing to give the worksheets and explain how to fill them out, but another to actually educate for retention because the intent is to benefit them in the future. Not every student will see the benefits of it right away, and that could create challenges for them if they take it seriously. As a school counselor, I want to prepare them more for the world outside of school instead of helping them get to the next stage of their education.

I would like to slightly modify this lesson plan and generate an extra lesson after the resume is built. I would love to role-play with the students in an interview so they can get a real feel for what it would be like. This also would create another challenge against time, but it can be optional if the time constraint is too much of a problem.