School Counseling Reflection This week I had the opportunity to fulfill my practicum hours at two different locations. The locations that I observed were Columbia Elementary School’s summer care program and a Mad City Money Event located at Members 1st Credit Union. Both experiences opened my eyes to see a wide range of situations and behaviors among kindergarten through high school. Each observation provided two very different outlooks and each contributed to my knowledge in some way. Columbia Elementary School Summer Care Program consists of kindergarten through 8th grade. The class I was able to observe was the 6th through 8th grade class. This program is for the students who are out of school for summer vacation. In the classroom I was in, there was about ten students and three teachers. Two of the students required one on one care therefore making the student to teacher ratio a bit excessive. The other classes had a larger student to teacher ratio, making it more difficult to handle. The two students that required one on one care had special needs that required special care. One of the special needs students had severe seizures and needed that one on one care and the other had down syndrome as well as other special needs that called for one on one care. The teachers were very good at caring for their needs throughout the day. They understood their behaviors and knew when something wasn’t quite right. I was able to experience many different behaviors among all grade levels while I was there. Throughout the day I was able to learn and see the structure in which this program is designed and how it works for the children. Because it was a summer school program they merely just played and had fun most of the day. The biggest group activity was doing the craft for the day. Some kids were eager to participate and other were not. The project was manageable but somewhat difficult and it took all hands-on deck to get it finished. The teachers decided to bring in the kindergarten class so that the older kids could help them get through it. The bigger kids were troopers and really stepped up to help them. The teacher maintained a well-structured and organized classroom even when there were lots of children.
If you’re unsure whether a summer enrichment program is right for your child, here’s are three ways these programs actually prove their value:
Hi everyone, I am observing on Wednesdays from 8-10 and Fridays 3-4 in Cuesta Children’s Center Preschool 2. I believe a child’s environment can affect their mood, social skills, ability to learn, mental health, and physical health. These essential elements need to be meet or it will affect their adult lives. I feel the Cuesta Center does a remarkable job of offering all of these, and has wonderful transitions throughout the day. I enjoy observing the teachers modeling acceptable class room behaviors, asking open-ended questions while using descriptive language to help to expand children’s speech, and they were engaged in the children’s presents. I was engrossed with how the class offers multiple opportunities for children to broaden their
This paper identifies the three major counseling theories that have been the most influential in the development of my ideas on counseling. The major points of Person-Centered Therapy, Adlerian Therapy, and Behavioral Therapy are looked at in brief. Each theory is then shown how a school counselor can apply them into their work with students. While one theory does not work for every situation in the school setting, each theory brings something beneficial to the school counselor.
In schools all over the world today, School Counselors are crucial to assisting students, parents, school administrations, and the community. I believe that creating an effective counseling program that supports the counselors’ role in education will foster a close interaction between students and counselor to achieve success in their personal/social lives, academic achievements, and college readiness careers.
The school counseling profession has evolved over time into a collaborative model. This collaborative model involves teachers, school administrators, parents, counselors, other school personal, and community stakeholders. The first guidance program was developed in 1895. In 1926 New York became the first state to require guidance workers to be certified; in 1929 New York became the first state to have full time guidance workers. In 1952 the American Personnel and Guidance Association (APGA) was established, now known as American Counseling Association (ACA). In 1952 The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) was established. In 1958 the National Defense Education Act was passed, which increased training and
Each week, I would help create a new lesson plan for the toddlers. The lead teacher and I would incorporate
We make decisions early in our lives that have a massive impact on our future. It has always been a passion of mine to touch the lives of the youth in a great and positive manner. What better way to live out this passion than being an advocate for the generation to come. It is my goal, to inspire and aide a generation of students in achieving their goals. I believe that School Counseling will give me the opportunity to do so. My personal and work experiences influenced my motivation to become a School Counselor. Through my years of experience I have overcame many challenging obstacles but they all worked together in the end for the better. In example, the first university that I attended after high school was Valdosta State University. When I attended VSU, my approach of learning was extremely nonchalant. After some life struggles I decided to relocate to Atlanta. Upon moving, I made a promise to myself that I had to finish what I stated back in Valdosta. My outlook on learning had become more meaningful. I enrolled in Atlanta Technical College and this is where my hungry for an over average GPA began. Once I began this journey, deciding to focus in Early Childhood and Education, like any other college student, I faced difficulties adjusting myself to university’s requirements. Eventually I became more confident and showed much more interest in the change. I worked harder, and received high grades, which boosted my ambition to perform better. In my last quarter at Atlanta
During my observation at the preschool here at Harper, I looked around and realized a lot of similarities and differences it has; compared to other daycare and preschool centers. The age of children in the room I observed was ages 3-5 with one lead teacher, and depending on the ratio of how many kids showed up on that day, about three or four helping teachers. The program was set up to a very open, happy and overwhelming setting. Every furniture and object in the room had a sign saying what it was, and then underneath the typed out word was the children’s way of writing what the object was. For example, a book shelf was in the corner of the room; on the book shelf was the word printed out “Book
If one ever wanted to become a daycare teacher or aide, this essay will be beneficial. Not every day is sunshine and rainbows. Actually, hardly any days are sunshine and rainbows. I’m going to classify the worst type of daycare kids. After reading this paper, others should understand how to handle these kids, or how to avoid them.
Summer Camp teachers reported that students were focused and responded well to the provided instruction. They were excited to see students have the opportunity to participate in an instructional structure that replicated the Kindergarten classrooms they would enter in the fall. Parents reported that their children were happy to attend the camp and did more reading and writing in their homes during the camp.
The goal of a school counseling program to help all students reach academic success by providing supportive services that addresses issues or concerns comprising of academic, career and social/personal development. School counselors are not only concerned with students who are succeeding and motivated to learn, they also aim at encouraging students who are at risk of failing or dropping out of school to continue striving for success and setting goals that encourage productive citizens in communities. In order to create a comprehensive school counseling program, one must first recognize their own assumptions, perceptions and stereotypes regarding students’ behaviors, values and beliefs. One should also have a willingness to accept and understand
Ninth grade is a transitional year for students during their high school matriculation. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of counseling services embedded during the school day among 9th grade students who have problematic behaviors. The hypothesis is that over the duration of one school year, students who are taught life skills and coping strategies will result in behavior modification changes. This study is quantitative and categorized as Comparative Experimental Research.
As a future school counselor, I can reflect that these past eight weeks, I have a full understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a school counselor in a traditional high school. Practicum 2 has been learning experiences that I will remember as I start my new profession. I believe that being exposed and actively involved with a group of school counselors brought a wide range of knowledge that I plan to utilize in the future. As a continuum from my Practicum 1, the following CACREP standards are mentioned below.
For a moment there was a sense of success that lingered at the hopeful look that gazed upon carefully held pastries, yet when the expression he carefully monitored morphed into outright sadness the sensation quickly faltered. Feeling his natural smile waning due to his failure to understand, Malik attempted to remain optimistic about the outcome for both of their sakes. Before he could begin to speak tiny fingers gestured towards the cherry filled treat with enthusiasm, and a few hand signals were what followed, though those too went far passed his level of understanding. Stuck at an impasse of what exactly to do next tensing fingers tightened around the plates entrusted to them, and lines of mounting frustration with himself began to
As part of my course of study at The University of the Cumberlands pursuing a master’s degree in school counseling, it is required that I complete the course titled Group Counseling in Public Schools. One of the required assignments for this course is a reaction paper to several hours spent observing a group therapy session. The only group therapy sessions I could find in my community, were classes in grief and bereavement. I contacted the leader of this group only to find out that this class had been canceled for the time frame of interest. There are no types of group therapy offered at the schools in the district where I teach. The remaining choice is to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings. I attended five meetings of Narcotics Anonymous or Alcoholics Anonymous.