Outside of violence within the schools, there is no more controversial issue than that of abortion. The school setting offers an artificial, somewhat idealized, version of our own society in which the rules of social function and citizenship are practiced before they are put to the test. There are significant arguments on all sides for how to best 'train' children while they are in school. Some believe that creating the 'ideal' world, in which violence, bullying, social disorder, sex, drugs, and the challenging of authority never take place. The problem, however, is that children who grow up in these environments develop a false sense of security about the world. When isolated from life, they are all the more shocked by it when they venture out of the nest. This is not to say that children should be given free reign and exposed to the challenges of adult life while still children. This is only to observe that when it comes to the challenging issues that puzzle and enrage society, isolating children from that may not always be the best course of action to take. Finding that balance is, in many ways, at the behest of the school board and P.T.A., helping children reconcile the differences between reality and school is the job of the counselor. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the approach of school counselors to the issue of abortion. APA format. . 4-pages, bibliography lists 4 sources.
