Caputa,+Monica

Guidance Counselor By: Monica Caputa

Guidance counselors require training, have responsibilities, do different things during the day, and obtain many benefits. School is required to become a guidance counselor. Guidence counselor training is a combination of interpersonal skills, math, psychology, and sociology. You need sufficiant scores on the praxis one and two test. Math is needed because around 25 percent of a guidence counselors day is spent administering and eveluating tests. The test results are used to provide context for existing records of academic performance, teacher evaluations, and a better overall understanding of student's needs. The other parts of the day are spent in an office dispending advice. The first thing you do when you choose the college you want to attend is you consult the college's guidance counselor about which courses and majors will be best. You must complete master's degree in education and counseling and obtain state certification. An undergraduate degree in psychology is an excellent choice. It is required to have supervised clinical experience before you start your job. If you wish to work at a school, you will need your states school counseling certification, and you need to see if you have to have teaching certificates and teaching experience. Before you start your job you must have 100 hours of experience. Many private schools require that guidance counselors teach courses in addition to performing their counseling duties. Because of this education coarses may be very important. You have to choose what kind of school you want to work at because public schools require a license, highschools require a bachelor's degree, and many private school require you to teach regular classes. But no matter what kind of school you choose to work at, if you choose to work at a school at all, studies on public speaking must be emphysized so you can speak to a group very easily. Although you have limited power to make students/people listen to you advice you must still try to help, guide, and structure a child's educational and vocational direction. Guidance counselors guide students through trials in their personal, career, and academic life. The most important skill of a guidence counselor could have is the ability to relate to adolescents. Adolescents requires a combonation of the ability to listen, be honest, be open-minded, and have a sense of humor. Individuals who succeed in adolescents communicate well with students. "When you do this right it's like you're another parent except they trust you a little more" (Don't know who said this). There are so many benefits from being a guidence counselor. some of these would be communication, leadership, grief counseling, stress managment, statistical analysis, test administration, and child psychology evaluation.