It is not easy being a high school guidance counselor. With all the pressures to help students achieve in the classroom, while pushing them toward college and a career, it is any wonder school counselors stay in the job.

A lot of people are interested in becoming a high school guidance counselor. Counselor Companion certainly salutes those interested in a school counselor career, but it is not easy.
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After watching the United States loose its competitive edge in the science and math fields, IBM has decided to take action. IBM will announce plans to financially back employees who are willing to go back to school to become science and math teachers.

“The new program, being announced Friday with city and state education officials, reflects tech industry fears that U.S. students are falling behind peers from Bangalore to Beijing in the sciences.

Up to 100 IBM employees will be eligible for the program in its trial phase. The goal is to help fill shortfalls in the nation’s teaching ranks, a problem expected to grow with the retirement of today’s educators.”

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Do you remember when career exploration was playing make-believe? At any given time you could switch from being a master chef to a brain surgeon to an archaeologist with just the change of a costume. If only choosing a career were as easy as a wardrobe change.

Career exploration involves research, observation, experimentation and relationship building. And although stressful at times, it can be fun and exciting. You just need to develop the right approach to the process of looking for the right career.
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Bribes come in all shapes and sizes and are used for a variety of reasons to bring about a desired outcome. Now bribery is showing up in one of the nations largest school districts and the question is can you bribe students to come to school?

A recent article by Tracy Dell’Angela that appeared in the Chicago Tribune reported on a Chicago Public Schools policy to bribe students with prizes and money to improve attendance.
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*This article by Jacqueline Stenson, contributing editor for MSNBC, about physical education offers some tips for high school parents, teachers and guidance counselors who might be struggling with balancing an educational environment with phyiscial fitness as childhood obesity escalates. Guidance counselors can share this physical fitness information with the teachers in their buildings, especially if their school has eliminated the physical education department due to funding cuts.

With schools cutting back on physical education classes, and some eliminating them altogether, the prospects for getting exercise during the day aren’t great for many kids heading back to school this fall.

So what’s a parent to do to make sure their children get the exercise they need?

For starters, don’t rely too much on gym class, experts say. While some schools are updating PE to include in-line skating, elliptical trainers, wall climbing and other popular activities, more schools are reducing or stopping their PE programs.
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