There are never two days that are the same. I just come prepared each day to do my best to meet the needs of students, whether that be an emotional need, physical need, academic need or just a kind person to recognize their existence!
There are so many different family dynamics within our student body that can greatly impact our students' state when they enter our building. Trying to develop empathy from other students, as well as staff, can be a challenge as well. We just don't know how powerful our interactions with our students can be. It seems a bit silly to push career exploration on a student that is consumed with worry that their family, as they know it, is falling apart. There are many students that are now on depression and anxiety medications in order to function as a teenager in today's society. Substance abuse prevention also falls under the umbrella of a School Counselor. I know of the destruction that substance abuse can do to a young person and the path that it could lead them down. This is another distraction from learning. Cell phone usage/social media is another distraction that keeps students from learning. The responsibility of cell phone usage is not being taught, in many instances. This creates an opportunity for addictions, connections with predators, cyber bullying and much more.
As a high school counselor you think the focus would be assuring that our students are meeting their graduation requirements. This task in and of itself is very demanding. After a student completes a Career assessment, we look at potential Job Shadows to explore the results of the assessment. Next we look at the education (if any) that is required.
If a plan of study is required we discuss if this student is ready to participate in Dual Enrollment classes. We contact out-of-state schools to make sure that our community college classes will transfer to that particular college. For the in-state schools, we look at their transfer equivalency platforms to learn how each class will transfer. If it is a career that has an apprenticeship, we explore if there would be an opportunity for a helper job within that career that a student could do while in high school. This could lead to an apprenticeship. We also talk to people in the career field to learn more about it. We are involved in trade visits and college visits to get students more information about different career pathways.
We are hosting a CTE Career Fair to bring career experts into the building.
Broadening students' scopes through different experiences with career exploration, and also with their people skills, are the main focus of our day. It's very rewarding to see our students learn more about their gifts, talents and abilities and how to use these skills in an amazing career!