One question that has mystified teachers and lawmakers alike is, “Does High School properly prepare students for College upon graduation?”. Certainly, academic counselors can advise students in the right direction in terms of grades and what path career path to take upon graduation. Extracurricular activities such sports and clubs help enhance one’s social skills and help prevent a student from becoming addicted to vices; such as drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately, when one examines the curriculum outcome from High Schools nationally, trouble looms. Studies from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) find that only a third of U.S. high school seniors are prepared to tackle college-level course work in the fields of math and reading. …show more content…
The most pivotal role model, however, will be the student’s school counselor. The role of a school counselor is to identify personal beliefs that address how all students benefit from school counseling program (Lee). High School counselors can perform additional methods to help his/her students. Preparing a list of challenging courses to prepare him/her for college, advise him/her over which college admission test to take, provide students with feedback concerning what major to take up at college, recommend a list of Colleges to go to that best match the student’s academic profile, and to explain the importance of letters of recommendation during the college admission process and how they should and who they should be written by. The counselor’s assistance and encouragement plays a crucial role in not only guiding the student, but in shaping and preparing them for what lies ahead upon successfully graduating. Their definitive goal is to patent a mission statement that aligns with their school’s goal and develops program initiatives that define how the vision and mission will be calculated …show more content…
In 2016 a Gallup poll revealed that only 30% of Americans had confidence in the public school system, lagging behind organized religion and the U.S. medical system, with their percentages ranked at 39% and 41%, respectively. The lack of confidence can be attributed by, even though the SAT’s and ACT’s are more accessible, the scores from the 2014-15 school year suggest that students are not ready for college. The SAT’s ten years ago, shifted to a 2400-point scale, in 2015 the average composite score for a graduating student was 1490 (Caralee). That is a seven-point drop compared to the average composite score of 1497 during the previous school year. To break in down by subject, scores decreased from 497 to 495 in critical reading, 513 to 511 in mathematics, and 487 to 484 in writing (Caralee). These abysmal score in standardized testing do not exactly bolster confidence within the public that the United States education system is working. President Barack Obama in his 2016 stated that “We've lifted high school graduation rates to new highs." To President Barack Obama’s credit, the US Education Department of Education reported that the rate had reached 82.3 percent, and the department billed it as a “new record high.” The talking point had a major caveat though and to quote Ben Franklin “Half a truth is often a
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
The responsibilities of a professional school counselor are to design and deliver comprehensive programs to promote student achievement. The guidelines
Individuals’ perceptions of their life/worth have the power to control the goals that they can carry out and meet. Every day we are learning new things and everyone has his/her own unique ways of learning. My strong desire to help students with their academic, personal, and social needs make me a strong candidate as a school counselor. While completing my undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Program Administration I learned a great deal about myself. I have a passion for learning and want to share and express that love for learning with students. I feel that the Master of School Counseling program provides a direct path to my career goals of helping students to comprehend subject matter while learning to love learning as I do. Not only will
I have conducted ethnographic research at the Occidental Child Development Center where I have spent many hours participating and observing with the children of the center. I am not an outsider to this center, because I have been working with this particular bunch of children for a year, so I am well accepted when I asked to join in the games with the children. The center has a total 45 preschool students aging from 2-5 years old and seven staff members and five student workers. Throughout my research the director, teachers, and my fellow student workers accompanied me at all times, however I have not included all 45 children and all eight staff members. I have narrowed my research and included observations where children practice more power over other children, an example of personal agency, and an example of the family oriented atmosphere.
I cannot recall a more rewarding experience than helping facilitate a child’s education while enabling parent participation alike. These experiences have drawn me to my current position as an Educational Assistant where I am constantly interacting and establishing relationships with students, learning about their goals and aspirations. It is that same desire to empower our future students that has steered me towards a career as a school counselor. By enrolling in the Masters in counseling program, I aspire to develop methods and experience to become an effective, experienced, and adaptable school counselor that promotes self-awareness, allowing students to realize their full potential and impetus them towards a promising future. I want to learn skills that facilitate personal and career development, ensuring that our students grow accomplishing their goals and ambitions. To discover techniques that help students improve in all areas of academic achievement, establishing relationships with students and parents alike. By becoming a school counselor, I am determined to become an advocate for underserved youth. I aim to become an effective agent educational reform, providing support for students in the various institutions that may disempower
During the past three years of college, my interest in counseling has been affirmed through a variety of experiences. One important experience that influenced my decision to pursue a career as a school counselor was my involvement in my community service sorority, Chi Delta Alpha. Through Chi Delta Alpha, I volunteered on several occasions, among them I babysat children to provide parents with a night off; I was responsible for a group of elementary students as they experienced college classes and I painted a caboose for a local playground. A theme that has remained constant throughout all my different experiences is that making a difference in a person’s life is a rewarding experience, and I know that I desire a career that enables me to support high school students as they face difficult situations.
School counseling has evolved over the years into a significant component of the educational system. School counselors are taking on new roles in schools as leaders, working with “school administration and staff in developing student attitudes and behavior which are necessary to maintain proper control, acceptable standards of self-discipline and a suitable learning environment within the school” (Secondary School Counselor 2012). Counselors work in “diverse community settings designed to provide a variety of counseling, rehabilitation, and support services” (Counselors, 2010). When working in a school district as a counselor, you can either be an elementary school counselor, middle school counselor or a high school counselor. This essays explores a recent interview with a high school counselor.
Within recent decades, college has become a more easily available path than it has been for the past generations. In a current news release, The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that, “Of the 2.9 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2014, about 68.4 percent were enrolled in college in October” (BLS Economic News Release from April 2015). When a student graduates high school, most of them intend to continue on to college. They have the idea that, while there, they can break away from all the general classes and just focus on what they want to learn. However, for almost all students, they find that this is not the reality. Just like high school, they find that they have to take approximately two years in general studies in order to attend and graduate with the major of their choice. General education classes should not be required because a majority of the information learned has already been covered in past years. Most of the courses do not benefit a student 's major, and the total amount of required hours for these classes can become a big waste of time and money.
to about 83 percent of high school graduates enroll in some form of postsecondary education, but only about 52 percent of students complete their degrees. Further, a very small proportion of students complete a degree in four years—“among students starting at ‘four-year’ institutions, only 34 percent finish a B.A. in four years, 64 percent within six years, and 69 percent within eight and a half years.” Colleges always want students to graduate and support their alma mater. However this begins with deciding what student are mentally readiness and determination for the task that lies ahead, college. In today’s society we struggle trying to find a proper definition for college readiness. This is the main reason statistics and graduation rates suffer in the way that they do. Just because a high school student reaches the age of 18, obtains a high school diploma, and has functional literacy, does that really make students college ready?
American School Counselor Association. (2012). The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs, Third Edition. Alexandria, VA: Author.
Many students entering college may discover that they are not prepared for college curriculum courses. These students enter college courses facing a major issue. They find that high school has not adequately prepared them for the difficulty of college level courses. These students lacked the sufficient basis in being well equipped for advanced careers and college entry. These students have suffered a great inequality prevalent throughout high schools since several high schools do not receive equivalent aid. The unequal funding in high schools prevents students from attaining the same education that other students in different areas may receive. Unequal school funding in secondary schools causes inadequate preparation for students wanting to attend a post-secondary institution.
Imagine walking down the hall of a crowded high school. Most of the students there do not envision how well school prepares them for college. Teenagers have few cares in the world! A vast majority takes the bare minimum amount of courses needed to fulfill school requirements. These graduation prerequisites usually do not come close to adequate, and rarely exceed sufficiency. Should high schools change current curriculum to better prepare students for college? The answer is simply, "yes." Consideration of why and how holds the key to solving America's problem.
The school counselors meet the needs of student in three basic domains: academic development, career development, and personal/social development. The knowledge, understanding, and skill in these domains are developed through classroom instruction, assessments, consultation, counseling, coordination, and collaboration. For example, in assessment, school counselors may use a variety of personality and vocational assessment methods to help students explore vocation needs and interests. The classroom guidance lessons are designed to be preventive and include self-management and self-monitoring skills. The responsive services component of the school counselor's role provides individual and/or small group counseling for students. For example, if a student's behavior is interfering with his or her achievement, the counselor will observe that student in a class; provide consultation to teachers and other personnel to develop (with the student) a plan to address the behavioral issues, and then work together to implement the plan. They also help by providing consultation services to family members.
Guidance counseling, also called school counseling, has evolved over the years into an important part of the education system. Counselors are now taking on new roles in schools as leaders so much so that the ways in which counseling is being implemented has become a much talked about topic in schools. The effectiveness of counseling in schools is looked at by the education system more frequently than it was in the past. Though all school counselors must follow a national model for counseling, the roles and functions of counselors at various levels in the school system are different, however, school counselors at all levels of education before college are generally effective despite implications.
A study performed in 1992, reported approximately 3,400,000 youth had failed to complete high school and were not enrolled in high school (Starr 1998). This statistic is based on the United States where job competition has greatly increased due to technology. Many of these student lacked the support and training necessary to succeed in today’s society. Currently in every high school across the nation, there is a person responsible for offering support and training to the youth of America. Available for all students is a guidance counselor. Counselors within the high school setting play an influential role in the forming of post high school goals through the planning of numerous activities.