Value of School Counselors Term Paper

School Counselors

People who work as school counselors are both counselors and educators. They have a very important role, and can be central in helping children and young adults with their academic interests and pursuits. They can also help to ensure that these young people are ready for college, even starting at an early age. Many people think that counselors only focus on college issues, but that is actually not the case. Their job is often more than just academic, as they work with career and social issues, as well as personal concerns, too (Bryan, et al., 2011). They are educators, but they are also counselors, and that means that they can counsel students on a wide variety of topics. Often, these topics are tied together because the student is experiencing something in his or her personal life or social circle that is affecting whether he or she is mentally and emotionally ready to move on with college and/or career pursuits. By getting to the bottom of the issue, a school counselor can help a student move on academically, but he or she may also be instrumental in helping the student move forward in other ways, as well (Chen-Hayes, Ockerman, & Mason, 2014).In the past, these individuals were called guidance counselors, but that is an outdated term that is no longer used. Each country is different in how it handles this responsibility, as well, and some countries are much more focused on only the academic side of the issue. Nearly 40 countries have mandatory school counseling, as do the majority of U.S. states (Chen-Hayes, Ockerman, & Mason, 2014). Many of these counselors are specifically accredited to work in schools, making them an important part of the faculty and helping students be successful in what they want to do in life (Chen-Hayes, Ockerman, & Mason, 2014). Sometimes, school counselors are called upon to address more complex problems that children have, as they are not just asked to handle which college the student may want to attend or what that student wants to do in order to make a living in the future. As such, there are a number of different beliefs and opinions about what makes a school counselor.

Elementary, middle, and high schools all….....