Personal View of Counseling

¶ … Intentions of School Counselors

As early as middle school, I recall at all times being provided with an assigned school counselor. There are countless explanations as to why schools provide students with counselors, all of which have the purpose of providing safety and a positive future for the students.

Because a student is in school to be taught, one of the most general purposes that the school counselor has is academic achievement and motivation for the student. If a student is doing poorly in school, they may be pulled into their counselor's office in order to find out why they are struggling. The counselor then has the opportunity to communicate with the student and discover more about them. If the student struggles in class because of problems at home, with other students, or because the student cannot grasp the concepts, the counselor is there to assist the student in these areas.

If the student is able to have a good relationship with their counselor, it is more likely that the student will feel comfortable opening up about potential violence at home, in their social life, or in the classroom. The counselor is to be used as a tool for violence prevention for the student. Even if the student does not have problems at home or at school, the counselor is able to help the student in areas of personal and social development. There is always room for a person to grow and learn, and this includes the lives of young students. Providing students with an open door and education into healthy relationships allows students the best opportunity to have a healthy lifestyle in their future.

At higher levels of education, including high school and college, student counselors are able to provide assistance for students in career development. The counselor is able to assist the student in finding their field of interest, and create an educational pathway for them to follow to be best set up for success.

In my educational career, I was able to experience school counselors that enjoyed providing all of these services to their students. Even the best students need academic advice and guidance. Experiencing life as a teenager in a public school creates the need for social growth, and my school counselors were often assisting in taming fights among friends, siblings, and families. When a student knew of a problem at home, it was common knowledge that a school counselor was a safe resource to use. It was not often that I needed to use the school counselor, but I knew that if I had a need, be it social, academic, or personal, I knew that my school counselor would be able to provide assistance.