High school students are looking for more assistance with college planning. According to a recent survey by Grand Canyon University, many students now rely less on parents and teachers. They are turning to guidance counselors for help with one of the biggest decisions of their lives.

The GCU study, conducted via forums and electronic surveys of area public high school guidance counselors, showed some surprising results. A record number of students are seeking help to decide what to do after high school.

While colleges and universities are investing heavily to recruit students, the demands on high school students are escalating as well. Students are pressured to decide on an area of study before even entering college. A majority of counselors said that less than half of their students had decided on a major or direction of study for college.

Couple that pressure with the stress to select a college or university. As a result, students are increasingly seeking out guidance counselors to help with the critical decision-making process. Students are coming to counselors for assistance with college applications, financial aid and scholarship information.

Many of the counselors also reported that they need better training to assist students with the application process.

Sidebar:
Among the guidance counselors surveyed by Grand Canyon University, most responded that students had also sought assistance for something other than college planning. The most frequent reasons students asked for help were:

• Grief and bereavement – 76% of counselors
• Suicide issues – 68% of counselors
• Drug and alcohol issues – 65% of counselors

Numbers
It’s hard to argue with raw numbers. Social networking sites are hosting daily users in the range of over 120 million combined. Big digits even when you discount the pages that people make for their favorite TV characters, pets, and toys just for laughs. That number refers to people who check in at least once a day to:

• find new videos and music
• send and receive messages
• upload photos
• chat with new friends

Facebook has more than 8 million photos uploaded each day, and is the seventh most-visited site for web surfers in the USA. MySpace attracts almost 230,000 new user registrations a day. Their user base totals over 250 million. Friendster, one of the longest-standing, high-traffic social networks, still commands over 30 million users. And more are popping up each month.

But there’s a different side to these “super public” sites. Social networking sites can be more than just cures for boredom. They can also be a great way to network and boost your professional development. Forget about getting your band signed, but think about getting a business interview when you alert a potential hiring company to a public portfolio of your work experience. Focus your approach to get better results.

The refined network approach
So you earned your degree. You have a few professional hours under your belt. You’re on your way, but you just don’t know which direction to start in. Do you begin with the want ads? An employment office? Burger King? Perhaps, but it would be wiser to start laying a bit more groundwork to better your chances of landing a great job.

There is a huge interest in social networking sites. It’s the past time of choice for millions of people of all ages. But the great part about this new trend is that you can also do it seriously to gain professional partnerships and peers. To be effective, you don’t necessarily have to wade through millions of diversified interests in the high-traffic currents of sites like MySpace or Facebook. There are already social networks set up to address specific needs of professionals. The truth is, social networking sites aren’t just places, they’re business models. They’re models designed to connect people with similar interests for professional development. This can be for everything from finding a perfect romantic partner, or the next great American band, to your next great job opportunity.

The networks
Two online professional social networking sites that work well are Linkedin.com and ryze.com. They both help people who are looking to make professional connections and build a better portfolio, but they function differently.

1. Ryze.com is set up to help people find other professionals in their area for face-to-face networking and public events. Add people who work with specific things related to your field of interest and ask them questions. The more you add, the better your chances at a professional connection. When you join people’s groups by adding people, you boost their personal and group ratings.

The interests of groups on ryze.com can be very generalized, such as career assessment tests, or things that are very specific, such as resources for local graphic artists.

Ryze.com goes further by making it easy for your group members to meet for events themed on professional topics. They’re designed for you to meet people and trade professional tips or connect for new work. The whole purpose is to build a network of professional references and job leads.

2. Linkedin.com helps you create a profile that summarizes your professional development and accomplishments that help you find and be found by former colleagues, clients and partners. You build connections by sending emails to professional colleagues to join the network then connect back to you. This network has a massive user base, numbering in the millions, connected through over 350 companies.

Through this network, you can:

• be found for business opportunities
• search for great jobs
• discover connections within companies to help you land jobs or close deals
• post job listings for your company
• find potential clients, service providers, subject experts and partners who come recommended
• have the people you know introduce you to other professionals

Work to find your niche
You can choose to start out with these social network models to help you begin your professional climb, but there are more being created everyday. One might be just perfect to help address your specific needs and build your skills. Keep your eyes open and hit the search engines, because now more than ever, it’s easier to collect resources designed to help you in your journey.

A high school senior was fighting back tears in her guidance counselor’s office. Despite her 92 average, the girl had been rejected by her top three college choices. Another senior, already clad in a new Northwestern T-shirt, interrupted to give his counselor a thumbs-up. He was in.

And so it has gone over the last few weeks, as colleges send their decisions and counselors console, cheer up and otherwise try to help this year’s seniors navigate the end of the admissions process.

“It’s a bittersweet time,” said Susan Buchman, a counselor at Byram Hills High School in Armonk. “You get some kids who are ecstatic because they got into their first choice school, and then there are disappointments. And you get parents who are very upset. They were hoping their kid was going to get into a certain school so that they could put the sticker on the car.” (more…)

Asphyxiation games have been around for decades - and for some reason the brief euphoric high from lack of oxygen continues to intrigue teenagers. However, several publicized deaths over the past few years, as well as Internet sites like YouTube displaying the game in more threatening variations, are spurring a discussion in schools and among parents’ groups, guidance counselors and physicians. Many psychologists believe that this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed openly and aggressively.

Levi Draher has received national attention after sharing his near death experience. Click here to view a video of Draher’s talk about the deadly game.

In a New York Times article, 16-year-old Draher Casts Light on a Shadowy Game.

GERONIMO, Tex. - Levi Draher, 16, walked to the front of the Navarro High School gym in early March and picked up the microphone before a hushed audience of fellow teenagers.

“I died and came back,” he said. (more…)

States and school districts nationwide are moving to lengthen the day at struggling schools. As mentioned in The New York Times, this decision was spurred by grim test results suggesting that more than 10,000 schools are likely to be declared failing under federal law next year. (more…)

Strategies to Improve Motivation
Many students with disabilities lack motivation. The lacking motivation often stems from a low self-esteem or confidence level. As teachers and parents, there’s a lot that can be done to improve the motivational level. One needs to remember, these students are often fragile mentally and require a great deal of confidence boosting before the following techniques will work. The goal is often to help develop a ‘can do’ attitude, one that sets the child up for success.
(more…)

Story by TeensHealth

Overwhelmed by classwork? Scared because your parents are splitting up? Worried about a friend? Feel like you don’t fit in?

Sometimes it’s just not possible to sort through tough times alone. Problems can build up and you may lose sleep, find you can’t concentrate on homework, or even become depressed. When you need to talk to someone, your school counselor (sometimes called a guidance counselor) can be a great place to start. (more…)

If you are on the path to becoming a guidance counselor, you’re heading toward a position that involves a great deal of interaction with others. Elementary-level school counselors through college-level guidance counselors work with students to promote and support their academic, personal and social development. It is essential for guidance counselors to be effective communicators, able to provide educational advice, career recommendations, and even help to those who may not be heading in the right direction at all.

Before you can secure your place in this field, you’ll have to successfully complete a different type of interaction process the job interview. Interviewing skills are important for any career field. However, guidance counselors not only need to excel to land a job, they should also be able to help future job-seekers with interview tips.

Learn from common mistakes made by others instead of committing an interview no-no. After all, as Kiplinger’s writer Peter Phelan states, the last thing you want to do is leave the wrong impression.

In his article, What Not to Say at a Job Interview, Phelan outlines 12 gaffes that could cost you a job. (more…)

As a senior in high school or freshman in college, you may not have even heard of helicopter parents but you have almost certainly felt the wind from their rotating wings. A helicopter parent, as defined recently by the media, is a parent who hovers too closely over a child, mapping out their activities, decisions and lives from birth into adulthood. You probably have a friend whose mother picked out her daughter�s top ten colleges and practically wrote her resum�. Or a buddy whose mom calls him every morning in his dorm room to wake him up for class. Or maybe � your dad is the one known for yelling at teachers when you get a bad grade.

If you are the child of a helicopter parent, you probably feel loved and protected. You are probably very involved in your school and community, and the next stage of your life always looks bright. However, although you no doubt appreciate all that Mom and Dad do for you, you need to realize that being too closely guided by your parents can become a hindrance as you reach adulthood. You need to have the room to grow and develop as an individual, especially when you leave for college. (more…)

It’s hard to get into college these days: Since the baby boomers’ kids came of age, the number of students in classrooms and the level of competition have both surged. Luckily, there are still a few ways to guarantee Ivy League admission � high SAT scores, lots of extracurricular activities, alumni in the family and the name of a prestigious private prep school on your transcript. Right?� (more…)