Foundation
In the school counseling program, a solid foundation is comprised of numerous stakeholders, including school counselors, school staff, parents/guardians, students, and the community working in collaboration to benefit each and every student. To create such a foundation, school counselors must be willing to examine their own beliefs and to create a program with an explicit focus. The development of a mission statement provides school counselors with this explicit focus and assists the counselor in developing a vision for the school counseling program to strive towards. Often the mission statement of the school counseling program coincides with the mission statement of the school as a whole, making collaboration amongst previously mentioned groups ideal to fulfill both mission statements.
One important focus I will strive for as a professional school counselor will be promoting self-worth and self-concept. I believe that it is crucial that children and adolescents feel that they are valued and that they have a general idea of who they are and a drive to further pursue self-knowledge before they graduate from high school. I feel that students who possess appropriately high levels of self-worth and accurate self-concepts are likely to be better equipped to make appropriate decisions in academic, college and career, and personal/social aspects of life.
Promotion of self-worth and self-concept in the elementary setting could be infused in multiple aspects of the school counseling program. Classroom guidance focusing on the concepts of uniqueness and diversity would promote a school climate that encourages students to celebrate and share their differences with others. The school counseling program could collaborate with students, staff members, parents/guardians, and the community to identify common areas of interest for many students and, in turn, to develop programs that allow students to explore these interests. For example, through surveying students, parents/guardians, and/or staff members it may be discovered that many students have an interest in entomology, or the study of bugs. The school counseling program could then reach out to those in the community with specialized knowledge on this topic, such as entomologists working in nearby universities, state parks, and arboretums. School counselors could set up guest speaking engagements with these individuals and/or might set up field trips that would allow students to further pursue these interests and begin determining for themselves how these interests fit into their overall self-concepts.
One important focus I will strive for as a professional school counselor will be promoting self-worth and self-concept. I believe that it is crucial that children and adolescents feel that they are valued and that they have a general idea of who they are and a drive to further pursue self-knowledge before they graduate from high school. I feel that students who possess appropriately high levels of self-worth and accurate self-concepts are likely to be better equipped to make appropriate decisions in academic, college and career, and personal/social aspects of life.
Promotion of self-worth and self-concept in the elementary setting could be infused in multiple aspects of the school counseling program. Classroom guidance focusing on the concepts of uniqueness and diversity would promote a school climate that encourages students to celebrate and share their differences with others. The school counseling program could collaborate with students, staff members, parents/guardians, and the community to identify common areas of interest for many students and, in turn, to develop programs that allow students to explore these interests. For example, through surveying students, parents/guardians, and/or staff members it may be discovered that many students have an interest in entomology, or the study of bugs. The school counseling program could then reach out to those in the community with specialized knowledge on this topic, such as entomologists working in nearby universities, state parks, and arboretums. School counselors could set up guest speaking engagements with these individuals and/or might set up field trips that would allow students to further pursue these interests and begin determining for themselves how these interests fit into their overall self-concepts.