The Best of 2010 (Plus Shameless Cute Dog Video)

Husband and I have been home the past week for the holidays and have discovered many channels on our U-verse that we didn't even know we had. I have been sucked into the Smithsonian Channel (nerd alert!), as well as many of the Animal Planet-esque shows. I'm noticing there are ton of "Best Of 2010" shows on lately. Yes, I even recently watched America's Cutest Dogs-2010 with husband. I love break. P.S. I voted for this dog and he won. Do ignore the lame commentary and focus on the cuteness.



To quote my Internet BFF, Mrs. Mimi: And I die.

So, in the spirit of countdowns from 2010, here are the most popular blog posts of 2010 on Notes From the School Psychologist. I suppose I could have tried to understand my sitemeter statistics program to determine most viewed, but that would require more patience than I can muster, so here they are, month by month, by highest number of comments. Next year, I'll get fancier on you and analyze it properly. So if you missed any of these, enjoy!

January: Awkward Conversation #249: Telling a Parent her Child has Mental Retardation. I still cringe when I read this. So hard. So awkward. *

February: (by default, my only post in Feb because I was swamped with retention referrals) March Madness Comes Early This Year. A post on (not surprisingly) grade retention.

March: You Got Served. This post got picked up by Brazen Careerist, so I think that drove up the comments. It is one of my favs though, because this kid I work with is so awesome. He got served.....by math.

April: You Are My Fire, People. This post is about the cutest music video project with developmentally disabled adolescents, which illustrates the difference between concrete and abstract thinking. Also, a confessional from me about The Backstreet Boys**

May: From the Emailbox: The Top 5 Questions I Get as a School Psychologist. This post has saved me so much time answering emails from prospective school psychologists. I love emails though, keep 'em coming. :)

June: Well Hello Summer Break, I've Been Expecting You. This post is on how to relax over break. I know, it should be easy, but it isn't. June was a great month for me. My book, The Teachable Moment: Seizing the Instants When Children Learn came out in June and I felt like my book baby had finally been born. And she was gorgeous. Except I hate the cover. Other than that, gorgeous.

July: Did You See the Memo About Interventions? I was a little afraid to post this one at the time, because it was pretty heavy-handed on pre-referral interventions and I didn't want to seem teacher-blaming. Teacher blaming was very hot this year. It was meant to get people thinking about how special education is seen as the ultimate intervention, and often, it just isn't.

August: This Week, With Debbie Downer. This post is in response to Teacher-Bashing-A-polooza-Fest 2010 that was happening on all the Sunday morning talk shows in August. Grrr.

September: Lessons from My Tea: Experience.Totally a default winner, because September was back-to-school madness, and I only had time for one post. But, I still like this one. It reminds us to be as patient with ourselves as we are with our students, and has tips for working with perfectionistic students.

October: Trapped. This one was when Mommy was in the New York Times discussing the hazards of telling people on a plane trip that you are a psychologist.

November: School Psychology Awareness Week: Monday. Apparently, detailing my day by the hour is interesting to folks. Who knew? That whole week, I kept referring to School Psych Awareness Week as SPAW week, and hoped that people would think I was saying "Spa" week and get me a gift certificate to a spa. No such luck.

December: Too early to tell, it's a tie, but I'm gonna go with Sleep. So Hot Right Now because I am on a one-woman fight for appropriate sleep for children. My teenage clients are so annoyed with me right now, I'm sure. Plus, I have been taking my own advice and banking sleep for 2011. It's delicious.

Here's to a fabulous 2011! Thanks for all your support and readership. A special thanks to all my frequent commenters on the Facebook page for the blog. I love hearing all your perspectives on our fine profession!

*Close runner up, one of my favs: The Softer Side Of Sears. In this post, I share ill-fated wardrobe decisions.
**Coming to concert soon with NKOTB. Squeeeeel!

The Parent Trap: How Much Monitoring is Too Much?

In graduate school, study after study I read linked parental involvement with school success. So shouldn’t more parental involvement lead to even more school success? Not necessarily. Consider the following two situations I experienced this semester:

Scenario 1:

A fourteen-year-old girl is failing all her classes. She has a language-based learning disability that is so severe, she couldn’t figure out how an apple and banana were similar. Yet in class, they were studying the foundations of democracy. It was no wonder she hadn’t turned in any work. At the assessment, I found that she was strong in nonverbal/visual learning, and recommended a more restrictive, yet more intervention-rich environment that could support her learning. I rarely lay it on super thick for parents, but in this case I presented the situation as dire, because it was. This girl was on the track to illiteracy because she couldn’t make any sense of the material given to her. After my impassioned speech for changing this girl’s placement to a special class with trained staff to support her, the mom, who has another kid at the school, said, “I don’t really feel like driving to two different schools, so I’ll keep her here.”

Scenario 2:

A seven-year-old girl is struggling in reading sight words. The school is providing her with a reading specialist three days a week, just to make sure her skills are strong. After assessing her, it turns out she is average in all areas of reading, including her sight words. She is above average in everything else. I think its time to celebrate the power of early intervention and keep her in the school program just to reinforce the skills. Parent is worried child will never get into Harvard, where both parents attended, if she does not get ahead now. Parent elects to pay a hojillion dollars to send her to an outside specialist for intensive intervention after school every day. Parents decide to sue the school to get her into special education with a one-on-one teacher aide in the classroom to support her and challenge the results of my assessment with an expensive outside evaluation. Additionally, the parents change the name of the family dog to a sight word she is struggling with, so she can really learn how it looks—on a collar, on a dog bowl, on the dog’s jacket—etc etc.

Talk about a tale of two parents. Surely there is a happy medium, no? I saw my role with parent #1 to educate her about the class, help her tour the class to feel comfortable sending her daughter there, and to try to problem solve the transportation issue, if indeed that was the real issue. I also get the inclination for parent #2 to do absolutely everything humanly possible to help her child. I do. Every child is someone’s precious baby and they want the best for them. But can there be too much parent involvement? I would think that “Once” the dog would say yes.

I often see too much parent involvement backfire not in the early elementary years, but in the middle and high school years, when teenagers are striving for independence and autonomy and they have the opposite. I have parents who know every assignment, every detail, and everything about their teenager’s schooling. I shudder to think of my parents, when I was in high school, knowing when my Great Gatsby essay rough draft was due, or if I had finished math homework 2.7, problems 35-52. I would have been so annoyed. Sure, did I stay up way too late reading the cliffs notes for the Great Gatsby in high school and suffer through a bad grade as a result? Did I spell his name “Gatspy” throughout the essay? Yes. Did I scramble to finish problems 35-53 in the passing period before math class? Yes. Did I learn from my procrastination? Yes. Big time. If my mom was hounding me to read the book and start my outline, I may have finished the book and done better on my essay, but would I have learned how to manage my time better?*

I have also seen parents give too much independence to teenagers who still need parent support, because they shift their focus to helping younger siblings. I don’t have the answer about what is the “just right” level of parent involvement, but I do know the extremes. I also know that the way kids interpret parent monitoring—as either caring or controlling—can make a difference in motivation.** I have sat across from teens complaining their parents are too controlling and then later sat across from the parents saying they monitor because they care. Both parties are correct in their feelings. I help the kids understand the motivation behind monitoring and help the parents understand that their role should change in high school from monitor to facilitator. I wrote an article about homework across the ages, that gives specific tips for parents, if you haven’t seen it yet.

As for the tale of two parents, I hope each achieves a balance that serves the children best. As it usually is in this profession, I stay tuned to find out. One encouraging email did come to me this week from a parent of a teen I worked with a year ago that read: “Thank you for helping us figure out our role as “facilitators” with Jamie. We are doing our best to support him when needed, but let him stumble sometimes so he learns his own homework routine.” Yes, sometimes victories come years later. Plant the seeds and wait. That’s how school psychologists roll.

*Oh the shame. I still haven’t read the Great Gatsby to this day. Maybe my mom should have pushed me? I hear it’s a great book. Perhaps over break, I shall finally finish it.
**Courtesy of my dissertation, read by two people: my dad and my advisor. Thanks, dad.

Sleep. So Hot Right Now.

I presented this evening on the power of sleep for children and learning at one of my schools. Inadvertently, I became my own case study this week on the effects of lack of sleep. I got little sleep this weekend because of a holiday party on one night, and then getting up at 5am on Sunday morning to get to the Antique Faire. I know, I'm psycho. But all the good mid-century modern stuff goes in the first hour. Early bird gets the Hans Wagner wingback chair that looks like Dr. Evil would sit it in. Mwa ha ha.

This week at school, I have gotten terrible sleep as well. One night, my 80 lb dog was all up on my side of the bed and I was cramped all night. Another night, I slept like junk because of an ill-fated decision to have a Mocha Milan Latte at 5pm the night before. And so, I am functioning poorly this week. My symptoms are masquarding as ADHD--Inattentive Type: trouble initiating tasks, poor task persistence, faulty executive functioning (yes, came to school today without my lunch and the test protocol I needed), and irritability/restlessness. This is after only 3 nights of poor sleep. Can you imagine the impairment if it's habitual?*

Apparently, kids get about one hour less of sleep than they did 40 years ago. And apparently, 90% of parents think their kids are getting enough sleep and they are not. Here's the recommended amount for preschool children through adolescence, per the National Sleep Foundation:

Toddlers (age 1-3): 12-14 hours in a 24 hour period (naps count)
Preschoolers (ages 3-5): 11-13 hours
School Aged Children (ages 5-12): 10-11 hours
Teenagers (13+): 9-10 hours.

I know for sure that the teenagers I work are not rockin' 10 hours of sleep a night, that's for sure. The reason I know this is before I test them, I always ask when they went to bed the night before and when they got up. The reason I do this is because the research is so clear that even a little sleep debt or depravation affects you in the following ways:**

1) Learning is consolidated and enhanced during sleep. Kids with more sleep have higher grades, and higher IQs. Even 15 minutes more sleep makes a difference. Kids are terrible at estimating their sleepiness too. Their cognitive scores are lower even if they claim they got enough sleep.

I see sleepy kids trying to learn all the time. One the other day wrote a sentence from the prompt "Write a sentence with the word 'as' " that read: "I am as sleepy as a sloth." For the word "of" he wrote, "All I can think of is sleep." Some kids straight up put their heads down. I have had kids stay up all night doing work, or taking care of newborn siblings.*** The cumulative effect is that they don't learn as much. Kids need their sleep to learn. Just ask my little poppit in the Spanish immersion program who wanted to call the fire marshall to shut down school so he could go home and get a nap.

2) Lack of sleep may cause depression. Think how you are after having poor sleep. I'm guessing if you're like me, you're not Miss Mary Sunshine. There can be reasons for this--emotionally laden memories are stored when we sleep. Positive memories are processed in the hippocampus and negative in the amygdala. Lack of sleep causes impairment in storing memories in the hippocampus. So guess what? We file away bad memories more often than good when we are sleep deprived. I have teenagers I work with who I swear would not be as depressed if they got more sleep.

3) Lack of sleep makes you have symptoms of ADHD. Um yeah, my case study above (n=1) proves this. Plus, studies show that sleep loss debilitates the body's ability to extract glucose from the bloodstream. Without this stream of basic energy, one part of the brain suffers more than the rest--you guessed it--the prefrontal cortex. The one that helps you with executive functions--planning, organizing, attending, and sustaining effort.

4)Sleep loss makes kids fat. Obesity increases 80% for each hour of lost sleep. Kids with less than 8 hours sleep have a 300% higher rate of obesity than those who get 10. Yikes! Sleep loss triggers hunger and stress hormones. No wonder after my 3-day sleep debt I kept going for the wheat thins all day.

I think I'm going to start adding the recommended sleep hours to my list of recommendations at the end of my reports. It seems that would help learning and mood right away.

I also think I'm still in sleep debt from earlier in the week. So now if someone could call the fire marshall and shut down my computer, that would be great. I need a nap...

*"YES!!!" exclaims anyone with an infant child. Three exclamation points.
**From Nurture Shock, Chapter Two: The Lost Hour
***Yeah, I called the parents on that one. Please don't give your 12 year old the 12-2am feeding slot for your newborn.

Endorphins, Interrupted

I have been inspired by a fellow school psychologist to go to the gym before work. She goes at like 5am and at first I felt like she was a crazy person, but now I get it. One benefit is obviously good cardiovascular health, but let's face it, that's not the reason I set my alarm early 3 days a week now. The true benefit is I feel like I can be that Braggy Bragerson gal who says casually, “Oh, I work out before work to get it out of the way,” like it’s totally easy. That and the endorphins. Truthfully, it’s so not easy to convince yourself to get up almost 2 hours before you have to normally get up to go. But now, I’m totally hooked. I love coming home and not having to talk myself into going to the gym. Because truth be told, I’m totally wiped out after work. Husband knows that I need like 30 minutes of silence when I get home, since I have been talking and choosing my words carefully all day long. Any conversation about what came in the mail, which contractor is coming to the house when, and important dinner decisions come after I have relaxed alone for a few minutes.

The only drawback to my work out before work plan (besides the obvious driving to the gym and actually working out) is that they have horrible TV at my gym and there is no escaping it. There are 10 televisions telling me how dangerous and tragic the world is (aka, the news). What offends me at the gym is that I have to look at the worst 15% of humanity on the morning news shows, 100% of my workout. A sample from this morning’s workout included war, murder, fires, kidnappings, and even DEADLY COCONUTS falling from trees in Indonesia. And I simply cannot stop myself from reading the horrible financial news ticker. Why? Why can’t I avert my eyes? Why do all the machines point at the news? It totally kills my endorphin buzz and is not a good start to my day, where I go on to deal with tragedies in public education and the community. I’m full of vicarious trauma before I even get to work. Boo.

Today, however, I found a solution. It is much better than my original thought of getting those visual blinders horses have on their faces so traffic and the world isn’t so scary. Not a good look. I found one machine on the veeeeerry end of the gym that points toward a TV that has only teen sitcoms. Ahhhh. The soothing mild drama of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Charmed is much better for starting my day. I learn something every day. Sure, it’s almost always “Careful what you wish for!” but its better for my psyche than “Our world is going to hell and by the way, look out for deadly coconuts!”

If we're not careful, like watching the news, we can get jaded into thinking there is no good news in education or in our jobs. As school psychologists are well aware, no one refers kids who are doing well to us. "Hey, you're excelling and feeling great about yourself--go see Dr. B right away!" Not so much. We see the most severe 15% of the school population 100% of the time, which can leave one thinking that every child has issues if you don’t check yourself.

I solved my endorphin buzz kill at the gym. Now if only I could find time in my day to see how the other 85% of the students NOT referred to me are doing to keep positive...Do share your strategies! Just don't say go to the gym EVERY day. Mama needs her sleep sometimes.

School Psychology Awareness Week:Wednesdaythursdayfriday

How appropriate that in School Psychology Awareness Week (SPAW!) I didn’t have any time to write anything until Saturday afternoon. Indeed, it was a long Wednesdaythursdayfriday this week. Being a school psychologist is kind of like taking a tour of Europe in 5 days. As in, if its Tuesday, this must be my elementary school, and if its Wednesday, I must be in my middle school. Many times, it is all Wednesdaythursdayfriday to me though. If I didn’t have my iPhone I would die of executive functioning overload trying to get everywhere I’m supposed to be.

ANYHOO, since Wednesdaythursdayfriday was all one day, here are the high and low-lights:

Cold Pricklies

-One of my little poppits lost her English Language Development support intervention because the gal who was working with her got held up at gunpoint outside of the school and (not surprisingly) has not ever come back. I don’t blame her if she never does.

-Everyone is getting sick. The kids, the teachers, the parents. Sick. Sick. Sick. And now I’m really channeling Emma from Glee with my giant antibacterial hand sanitizer and obsessive hand washing. I cannot get sick. I have too much to do. So I pop Vitamin-C and never share a pen with anyone. It’s not very collegial, but I don’t care. I know my pens are safe. Perhaps I can install an apparatus in my office doorway like they have at the airport security where it puffs air on your whole body, only it would be puffing Lysol? I am full of great ideas this week (see Nose Scarf idea from Tuesday).

-Speaking of climate control…I have 3 reports I had to finish this week. I finished one and a half and have to write the rest on my weekend. One problem was that I could see my breath as I typed the reports in my office and I couldn’t focus. I did think to bring mittens, but they are very slippery to type with. I feel another invention coming on (or a trip to Target for a space heater).

-One of my older yoots I’ve been counseling for 2 years got expelled from school for possessing and selling drugs on campus. We have been talking for two years about ways to avoid turning into his father, brother, and uncle and every cousin in gangs. He is a talented musician and we were working so hard on planning a life outside of crime and gangs. It’s so insidious and rage making to me how hard it is to break the cycle.

Warm Fuzzies

-One of my “frequent flyers” to the principal’s office last year hasn’t been all year! He got recognized at our support staff meeting. His reason for improving? “Well, you know how sometimes kids just mature? That’s me.” I die.

- People actually attended my evening presentation on bullying. On a GLEE night, mind you. That’s dedication. I wove the relational aggression in Glee into the talk, to ease the pain of missing it. Thank goodness for TiVo. Loved loved loved Glee on Tuesday. I aspire to dress like the counselor, Emma. I also aspire to only have one school and a plush office with awesome brochures like hers.

-PTA bought one of my schools lunch on a day I had failed to bring my lunch and was frantically wondering all morning how far I’d have to drive to get a lunch not at a liquor store because nothing else is near my school. Had a hot meal at school for the first time in ages.

-One of my most…erm….dramatic poppits is really losing it this semester. I’m on year three of counseling with her. She is always focused and kind during session, and then she lets loose in the big world. The other day, she was kicked out of her class and she came to me and asked if she could “do mindfulness”. We did almost 30 minutes of deep breathing and visualization and at the end, she said, “Okay, I can go back to class, I feel like normal me again.” And after reflecting on my week, full of ups and downs, I hold on to these small victories and warm fuzzy moments with students to feel like normal school psychologist me again for next week’s adventures.

School Psychology Awareness Week: OMG it’s Only Tuesday

Today I am continuing the Day in the Life of a School Psychologist series for School Psychology Awareness Week, aka SPAW (I love that acronym, being one off from SPAWN and making us seem kind of evil).

I cannot believe it is only Tuesday. Here we go:

7:30am: Student Success Team meeting. Yes, at 7:30am. I know I’m an early bird and all, but it’s a little early for problem-solving, right? We talk about a kid who has had reading intervention forever and is not progressing. I am thankful this school has a lot of reading interventions. It makes my decision to proceed with testing so much easier. This one is a slam dunk. He’s gonna be one of my customers so we can see if he has a learning disability.

8:30am: Look in mailbox at school and pull out one week’s worth of notes. As I’m thumbing through them, I overhear one of my darlings say, “Where are the forms for getting the principal fired?” Oh dear. We have a brief discussion about the issue troubling him, and he is calm enough to be shipped off to class. I cross my fingers.

9:00: Speech pathologist and I ro-shom-bo (sp?) for who uses the office today. I win. Tomorrow, she wins. I ask her if she is going to use the pen today (we have one pen) and she proudly pulls one out of her purse and says she brought her own today.

9:15: Of all the times, the freakin' School Superintendent walks by as we are discussing this. I think of asking for a pen budget, but instead give my 20 second speech on the importance of having school psychologists on site more than a half day a week so we can really help students be ready to learn. Somewhere, the people who created SPAW are crying a tear of joy. Superintendent agrees mental health is important. We’ll see if the budget agrees when we get our next round of budget cuts.

9:30-10: Start to write report from testing I did two weeks ago. I’m so behind on writing. Plus, its so hard to focus when its so cold I can’t feel my nose. They haven’t turned the heat on yet. I forgot my portable space heater.

10:00-10:15: Teacher comes in a presents me with EIGHT pens! EIGHT! She read my Facey Face Fan Page post last night about my pen sharing woes. I also ask her if she thinks there is a market for a nose-scarf. It would be like a clown nose, only I’d knit just a little nose sweater of sorts. It wouldn't be as cumbersome as a scarf, but it would stay nicely on the nose. She wants one for Christmas.

10:15: Surprise parent visit. We talk for an hour about ways to support the student. Just kidding about finishing that report today, I guess.

11:15: Counseling session with a student with lots of worries. We talk about how negative predictions make us feel sad or worried, and we draw crystal balls and crumble them up to show how we often don’t have evidence that something bad is going to happen.

12:00-12:30: Lunch. I know! A real lunch! This school is totally bonded and all the teachers and staff actually eat together. Its relatively free of talk about kids. It’s a nice break. Though in this half hour, I schedule 4 meetings and pop them in my iPhone. No, I love YOU more, iPhone.

12:30-2:00: Train middle school kids in a cross-age peer tutoring program where they teach reading to 1st graders. I am strategic and pick kids who need help with their own reading. Mwa ha ha (evil laugh) I have tricked you all into a reading intervention, in a way. But if they feel confident in reading to little ones, they may feel more confident overall. And practice is practice, even if it is early reading material. It counts, and the kids love it.

2:00-3:00: Massive flurry of “check ins”—kids who don’t necessarily need counseling, but need a check in to make sure they are doing okay. Scrawl down notes about check ins. Documenting is one of the main habits school psychs have to get into. If you don't write it down, it didn't happen. Plus when you have 4 school sites to juggle, you want to make sure you don't forget any of the details.

3:00-4:00: I’m totally exhausted but have passed my window of having an afternoon coffee without being up all night. Curses. I work on the dreaded report again. Its one of 8 I need to write before T-give break. One down...I am ready to print. GAH. No toner. No printing satisfaction today. Ah well, It’s all in a day’s work, and I go home…

….Just kidding! I’m not done. I am presenting at the school tonight for parents on preventing bullying and I need to put together final details of my presentation. I think I will have that coffee after all…

Happy School Psychology Awareness Week! May it be full of warm fuzzies, new pens, toner-filled printers, and a temperate climate in your workspace.

Mwah!

School Psychology Awareness Week: Monday

It's School Psychology Awareness Week! More importantly, I actually remembered this year, unlike the last two years! This year's theme is SHINE. Or something. I'll do my best to shine all week, I promise. This morning, I thought: What better way to shine a light on my illustrious profession than to do another popular "Day in the Life" posting? Tens of people have written me and thanked me for showing them what the profession is really like. You just can't ignore tens of fans.

I have debated if it is good to post a real-live day, as I think this week is supposed to be about positively promoting our profession and all we do. But honestly, some days, all I do is run around hitting proverbial brick walls and readjusting my day. I think maybe showing the frustrating stuff too will help people understand why I always look so frazzled.* So, I bring you, in the name of School Psychology Awareness, my day today:

6:00 am: Workout at gym before work. I had to throw that in to be a smug pre-work worker outer. Seek comfort that it doesn't happen every day. Daylight savings gave me an extra hour. We'll see how long it lasts.

7:00 am: Gather up 8 hojillion folders and test kits.

7:30 am: Assemble “urban camping” pack. There are no grocery stores, places to eat, or places to purchase items other than liquor and hot chips anywhere near my schools. Must bring non perishable snacks because fridge is broken at one school site. Also, no microwavable stuff because some sites’ microwaves are circa 1982 and they frighten me. Office space could be 10 degrees or 100 degrees. Dress in layers. Again, like camping, one must be prepared for shelter and food needs.

8:00 am: Drive to School A to test students for three year reviews of their special education programs at a non-public school (special schools for kids who have bounced out of general school programs and need a higher level of care) . One kid absent, one kid tried to scale 8 foot fence to get away from me/my testing, one kid refuses. And I think I just got some good information about how they’re doing, even though I didn't get to see them.

8-9am: Drive to School B, waaaaaaaay across town. Listen to Spanish podcast and practice past tense verbs. Good info for my Spanish dual-immersion school, where I currently use only the present tense because it’s the one I know. I’m sure the Spanish-speaking parents think I’m very Zen and present.

9am: Arrive at School B with 5 other professionals to hold team meeting about a student with an intellectual disability. This meeting has been overdue for months. Parent doesn’t show up. Again. This is why the meeting is so overdue. It reflects badly on my performance numbers down with the Powers That Be at the special education department. But what are you going to do? Reschedule.

10am: Since it’s my 10th year of working in the pubic schools, I suspected our meeting may not go forward as planned, so just in case, I packed my bag for Plan B—testing a student at School B. Being a school psych requires mad executive functioning skills.

11am: Head to main office to get student. Director of school introduces herself to me even though I’ve worked at this school for 3 years, off and on.

11-12: Director gets a surly teen for me to test. She introduces me as Pamela, even thought I’ve worked there for 3 years, off and on, and have just told her my name. Whatevs. School psychs are constantly re-introducing themselves, because they are often all over the district. Test surly teen for an hour. She is totally not into it until I note she has the same last name as a student at School C who I tested. It’s her cousin. She totally warms up to me and my testing. Score.

12:01: In the middle of testing, giant crashing noise and screaming in hallway begins. Wild cursing and slamming of objects ensues (desk? chair? Hard to tell). Girlfriend I’m testing doesn’t even look up. It is a typical day. This is a school for students who have bounced out of their public schools for, well, this type of event.

12:15: Cops arrive and totally trap my car in the parking lot.

12:45: Glad I packed my urban camping snacks. Munch on trailmix and chat to various staff I needed to check in with.

1:00: Child in crisis now returns to classroom. I note he has a teddy bear earring in his ear, as if to remind everyone he is still a kid. I wonder if he will be one of my customers this year.

1-2: Drive to district office to write reports, because it’s a secret hiding place I go to get work done. It’s a horrible building full of “inspirational” quotes that do not make me forget that I greeted a person diving in our dumpster on the way in, and our school district has shabby facilities. Flying eagle posters are not sufficient to raise my spirits in this dump of a building. For example, I pass a sign that reads, “Air Quality Meeting: Under Stairwell at 2pm”.

2-4: Write reports. It’s kind of boring. I never write about it in my blog, because, well, it’s boring. But it’s a huuuuuge part of my day, every day.

I don’t know if this post does much for PROMOTING school psychology, but it certainly is an accurate portrayal of the stuff that lies between the great moments with children (you know, the good stuff, like teaching the children well, showing them the beauty they possess inside, giving them a sense of pride, letting their laughter remind us of how we used to be, and whatnot.)

Happy School Psychology Awareness Week! Woo hoo!

*Contrary to my head shot for this blog, I typically do not hang out by school busses with perfectly coiffed hair. I know, you're shocked.

I'm a Liar. Sometimes.

I have a confession, people. 28 years ago, I lied.

I told a group of my elementary friends that I saw “Cats” the Broadway musical. All these girls were talking about it and I felt left out. So I said, “I loved it too!” Then, things got hairy (no pun intended). They started asking questions.

Girl: “Which one was your favorite?”

Me: “Um….the black one.”

Another girl: “What was your favorite part?”

Me: “Um…I liked when they were singing.”

I managed to pull it off, and then it went horribly awry.

Girl: “Let’s play Cats at playtime! Which one do you want to be? I'm Grizabella!”

Me: “Um, erm....you pick!”

And it was downhill from there. Oh what a tangled web we weave. I still haven’t seen Cats. Perhaps it is too painful. Perhaps the Cat has my tongue and I can't speak of it, since it reminds me I was a liar. Or, it’s a really old musical and it doesn’t show anywhere anymore.



My good friend over at “Look at my Happy Rainbow!” has a cat story too. As a Kindergarten teacher, he had a class of 5 year olds all lie to his face simulataneously after he told the tale of his one-eyed cat. He thought it would be a rather unique story. The kids begged to differ:

“I have a one-eyed cat too!”
“Me too!”
"So do I!"
“I have TEN cats, all with ONE eye!”

In any event, I bring up cats and finally confess to you all my youthful transgression because I did a presentation last night on why kids lie* and I started thinking about my own experiences.

Last night, after confessing my 28-year-old lie, the group began to question if lying was bad or not. What’s the harm in trying to fit in? So what if everyone is lying about their one-eyed cat? What about white lies to protect people’s feelings? Should we only try to curb kids’ lying when they are trying to get out of trouble?

I was amazed to learn in my research that parents and teachers are only slightly better than chance at detecting if a kid is lying or not. I wonder if psychologists have a higher hit rate. Kids lie to me all the time. Though I usually have the advanced knowledge of what they did before they come into my office, so I cheat. One time, a kid was blatantly caught tagging the school with (duh) his name. He flat out denied it. Said he’d been framed. Only there were like 3 witnesses, and they were reliable sources. I wanted to give the kid the benefit of the doubt, but I didn’t want to be naïve either. I usually find it less important to find out the truth and more important to find out what the underlying issue is that got them in trouble. So I lied. I said, “I’d believe you, if it weren’t for the cameras.” The kid panicked and confessed. I’m a terrible person! I lied to teach him lying is wrong!

Research shows that kids lie mostly to make their parents and teachers feel better, or at least not be angry anymore. They do something bad, then feel bad about it, but don’t want the parent or teacher to be disappointed in them, so they lie. There was a great study in which they set kids up* to peek at a game, by having the examiner leave the room and watch the kid to see if he or she peeks at the answer. When they do, they come back and ask the question and lo and behold, the kid gets it right. They then ask questions like “Did you peek?” and most kids lie. When they say, “I’m going to ask you something, but first, do you promise to tell the truth?” truth telling goes up by 25%. The most powerful one is the question that lets kids know you value honesty: “I am going to ask you something and it will make me very happy if you tell me the truth.” Kids truth-telling increases by 50-75%.

So next time you’re trying to be CSI: Lie Inspecting Unit, or Kyra Sedgewick from The Closer, think about how the kid wants to please you and you might find that they will tell the truth if you emphasize how important it is to you. Oh, and also check yourself when you lie in front of kids. That’s a big one. Those white lies count too. Kids notice when you lie. Don’t let these teachable moments go by—you can teach about how you lied to spare someone’s feelings. Check out this clip from Liar Liar—lying just might be a social skill in a way…I mean, I got to play Cats with my friends, right? No harm there? I mean, in two days, we were playing "Grease" and I had seen that one. I even wore my pink jacket and told the group I had to be Sandy because I was born in Australia. And believe it or not, that wasn't even a lie.***




*From the book “Nurture Shock: New Thinking about Children” by Bronson and Merryman. Great book.
**Oh how psychologists love tricking the children. We lie to research why kids lie. I love it.
***In retrospect, I'm not sure why my elementary school was all about musical theatre.

Trapped.

We all dread the question.

We dread it the most on public transit.

We dread it more on an airplane when we are trapped.

That's right, the question, "So, what do you do for a living?" can be a dreaded question for psychologists. When I say I'm a school psychologist, I get:

-Wow! So you teach? What grade? ("School" must trip people up)
-Whoa! What am I thinking RIGHT NOW (um, psychologist, not psychic)
-Are you analyzing me right now? (Yes. Unless I'm tired.)
-I have a daughter/son with X problem......
-That must be so rewarding (Erm....most days...)
-I totally need a psychologist (Darn. My expertise ends at age 18, unless you are super immature).

and my favorite (someone really asked this):

-What is your favorite kid problem? (ooh! ooh! I love when they can't read!)*

It is sometimes hard to say what exactly it is that a school psychologist does, because we have 8 hojillion hats to wear, but I usually go with "It's like a child psychologist in the school setting. If there is a student who isn't learning, I try to understand why, and I provide interventions or recommendations. I specialize in what gets in the way of learning (e.g. emotional problems, behavior problems, disabilities) and what helps learning. I do some prevention activities, but mostly I do interventions with kids, like testing students for disabilities, counseling, and consulting with teachers and parents." I'm sure NASP has a better definition, but that is my "elevator speech" about my job. But sometimes, after the job description, you get trapped in a very long and unwelcome discussion about your profession...

In case you missed me posting this on my Facey Face page, I recently did this interview for the New York Times about psychologists trapped on airplanes in uncomfortable situations. Enjoy. In a schadenfreude kind of way.

Cornered: Therapists on Planes.**


*Like my friend Beth, I really wish there was a universal sarcastic font.
** I love this article. I love all of it. The only thing that made me have a Dr. Evil moment was reading "Ms. Branstetter" instead of Dr. Branstetter. (In Dr. Evil voice): "I did not go to 6 years of evil graduate school to be called Ms." But who am I to criticize the New York Times? THE New York Times. I feel lucky to even be referred to incorrectly in it at all. And in true Me-Monstery fashion, I got a bunch of copies when it came out in print. Stocking stuffers, maybe?

The Dreaded Plank.

It didn’t take me long in my career to realize that one of the best things I could do for my students was to practice what I preach and use good coping skills. You know, modeling how to put on your oxygen mask before assisting others and whatnot. I soon learned that if I didn’t exercise regularly, I wasn’t releasing the endorphins I needed to counteract bureaucracy monsters, crises, and vicarious trauma of the job. So I married a personal trainer.

Okay, fine, that’s not why I married him, but it sure was a fantastic bonus prize. Even though he has since changed careers and is now a professional photographer, I still make him make me work out from time to time. At first, it’s weird to have your husband telling you to drop and give him 20 pushups, but once you get over that, it’s awesome. I mean, free in-home training! With a dreamy trainer! Wait, where was I? Oh yes, coping skills.

This morning I had a session with my hubby and he told me to start with a plank. For those of you who don’t know, a plank is an evil yoga move that basically makes you hold your body weight up in a high pushup until your stomach and arms burst into flames. So I get in the plank position and hubby starts telling a story. After about 10 seconds, I am starting to feel the burn. Hubby continues with his story. 10 or 20 more seconds go by. His story goes on. I freak out on him: “You can’t just leave me here in plank position without a road map! I need to know how long I have to suffer!,” I cry out. Taken aback, he said, with encouragement, “10 more seconds, honey. You can do it.” And I did.

It reminds me so much of the kid during testing who always asks, “How much longer do we have?” after every single subtest. Learning is difficult for these kids. It doesn’t come easy and it is hard to persist without a road map. They want to know how long they have to suffer, just like I did in the dreaded plank. So today, when testing a kid with a severe learning disability and emotional disturbance, he immediately asked, “How long do I have to stay here?” I showed him the protocol and how many we were going to do, and had him check them off after each accomplishment. He tried to quit several times. I went back to the roadmap, and encouraged him to continue. He did. It was the most I’ve gotten out of one of my severe needs students in a long time.

Thank you, dreaded plank. And thank you, patient hubby. Now I can only adopt a growth mindset and hope that the plank gets easier for me with practice, and learning to persist with challenging tasks gets easier for my kiddos with practice too...

Alert the Media. Or Else.

It's Mental Health Awareness Week!

*party balloons fall digitally down your screen if I was fancy and knew how to insert an obnoxious pop-up situation*

Shoot. Only problem besides my lack of digital balloon skills is I'm also totally late. It was actually last week. Ironically, I knew it was Mental Health Awareness Week and I totally didn't have time to post anything about it because, well, I was dealing with mental health issues all week. It's like how I am always too busy to remember School Psychology Awareness Week every single year. On any given week, I deal with the following:

-Kid I needed to test hauled off to jail
-A mom admitted she had a drinking problem
-Kid witnessed mom get shot
-Parents getting divorced and kid hitting others in class
-Young'un yoot using extreme profanity in class waaaaaaay beyond his years.*
-Two suicidal kids
-Kid caught with marijuana in class
-Kid caught HUMPING in class.

And then, it's usually Wednesday. I'm serious.

The issues aren't just at my low income schools either. Mental health issues are everywhere. It's not a problem for only poor people. I can't believe I even have to type that, but it is such a misconception that mental health problems are exclusive to "poor schools." The problems are just different in different in different communities. And no matter the kid's socioeconomic status, mental health issues prevent learning.

ALERT THE MEDIA. No seriously, do it.

In all of the dog and pony show of Education Nation week at NBC and the perfunctory back to school episode of "This Week", I never once heard them utter the phrase "mental health."** I never saw a teacher on the discussion panels and I certainly never saw any mental health professional. Oh no, all I learned from Education Week was that underachievement is all teachers' fault. Forgive me while flames burst out of the side of my face in rage.***

Where do I even begin?

Teachers are expected to be so much more than teachers. They are supposed to be teachers, data collectors, pseudo-parents, social workers, classroom managers, technology experts, nurses, psychological triage experts, specialists on disabilities and differentiation, disciplinarians, experts in their content areas and pedagogy, and basically learning magicians. Oh, and also paralegals, diffusing litigious parents and advocates.

And how are they supposed to deal with the students who are struggling with mental health issues? I mean, on the 4 out of 5 days I'm not on their school site? Um, Frederick, can you only lose your sh** on Tuesdays and every other Wednesday when Dr. B is on site? Thanks.

Oh now I'm getting all riled up. I am typing with purpose and husband is asking if I'm okay. Perhaps the flames of fury are burning him. Sorry honey. Namaste. Deep breath.

Okay, so back to my point. Kids in crisis and kids with mental health challenges need support in order to learn. Teachers need support in order to work with students in crisis. You could be the best teacher in the world, but if you have children in your class in crisis, they are often not even there emotionally to teach. And I guarantee that giving those kids the STAR standardized test isn't going to make them feel better. "Sweetie, you'll feel better if you bubble this in."

Why is mental health so absent from the conversation on educational reform? I guess for the same reason the media didn't even ask TEACHERS to comment on TEACHING. It would make too much sense. I mean, why ask the people actually doing the hard work what is working and what is needed?

It reminds me of a quote I recently read (not from my tea, surprisingly). It read: "The scientist and the practitioner both know that the tomato is a fruit, but the practitioner won't put it in a fruit salad."

Please, media, listen to us practitioners. We know what's up. We live it every day. We sit and wait, not for Superman, but for that damn printer ink we ordered in 2009 and for someone to listen to us. Do it, before I get really mad and throw my fruity tomato at you on my TV screen.


*I wish I could share, it was a doozy. I felt a little like I was in CSI: Kindergarten Profanity Inspection Unit, trying to get to the bottom of the profanity investigation. It could have been an innocent comment, it could have been hugely profane, ala Snoop Dogg. I was on the case.

**Perhaps it is addressed in Waiting for Superman. I doubt it though.

***See also: My Internet BFF ready to snap off the teacher pointing fingers in the post *Sigh*

Lessons From My Tea: Experience

Disclaimer: A wood chipping truck is chopping up a tree at 5:45am this fine Monday morning, so I am up early. This post may be full of incoherent babbling as I drink my morning tea. Thanks, tree trimmer people.

I have spoke before about my wise tea. No, I don’t mean I read tea leaves, I mean I read the cute little sayings on the tea bag string. Good clarification. Today’s tea told me:

Experience is not always the kindest of teachers, but it is surely the best

Amen, Red Rooibus African Tea.

As some of you know from my Facey Face page or Twitter, I did a presentation this past weekend for a group of teachers on strategies for working with students with learning or attention disabilities. The teacher group was near Santa Barbara, so I flew from the Bay Area down to LA and drove.* When I arrived in LA, it was like 8 at night, so I cruised on over to the school in like an hour an a half. Easy breezy!

On my return trip, I got up at 7am (seems like sleeping in after this morning’s debacle) and I drove back from Santa Barbara to LA. I allotted myself 2 hours to get to the airport. I mean, just add a half hour to account for morning traffic, right? And I die. It took me over 3 hours to get through LA traffic to the airport and I nearly missed my flight and had to pay for an extra DAY on the rental car to the tune of $118. Gak! So, it turns out that between 7-10 am in LA, you can only go a mile an hour and the rental car people are evil and rigid. Lesson learned. Now I have that experience to file away. Not a kind experience, but a powerful one.

So what experiences do our students have that are painful, but great experiences? As my tea mentioned before, we learn from our mistakes. I was in a classroom a few weeks ago where a teacher had a darling drawing of herself making a mistake and then whenever she made a mistake in the class, she would make a tally mark and point it out as a learning opportunity. I. Love. It.

I am always telling teachers and parents to model making mistakes and their thought processes as they fix their mistakes. It is such a great lesson for our kids that it is okay to make mistakes. Unfortunately, in some school climates, mistakes are not welcome to the ego. I have seen 8 year olds crumble up their artwork because its not perfect, or get so upset that their pencil doesn’t have an eraser because it shows that they made a mistake.

So in addition to modeling making mistakes and being explicit that mistakes are how we learn, what else can we do to help perfectionistic kids? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Ahem. My name is Rebecca, and I am a recovering perfectionist.**

Invisible Crowd in My Mind: Hi, Rebecca.

First, let me share a tale. It’s a tale of a young girl who was a first year school psychologist. In her first year, she royally messed up about every 10 minutes. Now, coming from a super high achieving academic background (I’m gonna get my Ph.D. by age 27 at UC Berkeley!), this was one of those times in which she could have used some tea advice about how mistakes are how we learn. But it is really hard to make mistakes that may impact student’s lives, or cost the district $100,000 (oops!), or make you look like a dumba$% in parent meetings with advocates and lawyers pointing out your faults, or my favorite, (detailed in The Teachable Moment introduction), trying to conduct a whole group lesson for 6th graders on what constitutes “lewd and lascivious conduct.”

**Shudder.** Experience hurts.

The best book I read about counteracting perfectionism and being okay with your own mistakes was written by Carol Dweck, called Mind Set: The New Psychology of Success. I wish I had read it in 2001, but it wasn't out yet. I actually wouldn’t recommend purchasing it now, because it gets to be redundant, but the point stuck. I’ll save you $24.95 ( or $32.00 if you are in Canada):

Having a growth mindset is one of the best ways to be successful and shed perfectionism.

A “growth mindset” is knowing that talents can be developed and that great abilities are built over time. It allows room for, if not emphasizes, that mistakes are inherent in learning. Perfectionists tend to not have this mindset naturally—they think that success should show up on its own, before any learning takes place. It’s about immediate, and effortless perfection. Perfectionists tend to have a “fixed mindset” in which you believe your talents and abilities are set in stone—either you have them, or you don’t. In that case, you have to prove to yourself over and over again, and are constantly trying to look smart and talented without effort or mistakes. She did one study where she primed the kids for a growth mindset (before a math test, they studied mathematicians who didn’t have natural talent, but became great) or a fixed mindset (before the math test, studied mathematicians who were “naturally” talented). The kids primed for a growth mindset did better, even though they had the same skills as the fixed mindset kids.

The good news is that Dweck demonstrates that mindset is learned and can be modified with effort. Practical applications for parents and teachers include:

1) Have a growth mindset about the student’s abilities, and share stories of people who worked hard to become experts at a task or talent. Share your own stories of how you improved with practice. See: How I learned to be a better hip hop dancer through specific feedback about stankyness.

2) Praise effort, not ability. Instead of “You are so smart in math!” (Implication: you have to demonstrate you are so smart in math that you don’t make mistakes), say “Look how hard you are working on those math problems!” (Implication: effort pays off, and you can grow your math skills)

3) Focus on the student’s personal best, rather than the being the best in the class. Also, don’t let kids compare themselves to someone who has been doing a task for a long time. Kids sometimes say things like, “You’re a better artist, you draw it.” That inappropriate yardstick will set up a perfectionist to feel like a failure at age 8. My response? “I have been practicing how to draw for a long time. It’s your turn to practice!”

Okay, peeps, my alarm just went off telling me it is time to get up, and my tea is not cutting it for me this early morning. Experience should have told me that coffee is the only way. Please excuse me. Enjoy your week!

*I never present in ugly cities. Or attend conferences in cold places. Spoiled? Yes.
**Sound familiar? You may like the post, My Name is Rebecca and I am a Recovering Procrastinator. Also related, Procrastination is spelled wrong in the labels on the side and it bugs me but I can't fix it. Mistakes are okay....mistakes are okay....

They're Baaaaaaack!

Today is the first day back to school. I woke up ridiculously early, with excitement (nervousness?) to go to my schools and see all my kiddos. The FDOS is always so chaotic and fun for me. Of course, I get to hold kindergartner's hands, sooth the cryers (moms, I'm looking at you!), see my 6th graders from last year now towering over me in height from just one summer's growth, and see all the teachers all nice and fresh and ready to change the world. Here I go.

But not everyone experiences an easy, breezy, beautiful cover girl FDOS. Some kids have difficulties transitioning back into the groove of things, including the homework ritual. So, without further ado, parents, here are some tips for back-to-school homework challenges. Teachers and school psychs, if you have others, do share!

Elementary (K-5):

1) Ensure the homework workload is appropriate. In general, students should be working on 10 minutes of homework per grade level. For example, a 1st grader should have about 10 minutes of homework, a second grader should have about 20 minutes of homework, and so forth. This does not include shared book reading time, which is often about 30 minutes or more a night. If your child is spending more time on homework than this general rule of thumb, have a conversation with the teacher about the level of difficulty or workload. Tell the teacher how long it takes your child to do the work and then ask the teacher if that is typical. It is good feedback for the teacher if skills are not automatic for your child, then s/he knows what concepts to re-teach. Homework is designed to reinforce concepts, not teach new ones for the child to struggle with at home.

2) Develop a homework routine. Provide a consistent workspace and time for homework. Have a discussion with your child about when and where s/he will be able to focus best. Some children need to be sitting with parents or siblings to get help on homework, and some children prefer to do it in their rooms in an area free of distraction. In general, homework should be done before dinner time, but there is flexibility in when they should start. Some children are still in "school mode" and like to get it done right away, some need exercise or a snack first.

3) If you child complains about homework, consider developing an incentive system. Some children are motivated by a sense of completion or getting a grade back on homework, while others are not. You can set up a simple incentive system together, such as allowing a fun activity after homework is completed. This is called the "Premack Principle": First you do X, then you get Y. This is often sufficient to spark your child into action. Some children show more resistance, and benefit from a more elaborate system, such as earning points for doing their homework, earning bonus points for not complaining about homework, and so forth. These points are then redeemed for rewards that the family decides upon together. To prevent sibling rivalry, use the incentive system will all family members, even if the other sibling is doing his/her homework without any issues. It never hurts to reward good homework habits.

4) Do not accidently step over your bounds and end up doing your child's homework for him or her, for the sake of getting it done. It is better to leave items undone with a note to the teacher saying that your child did not understand the concept than to give the answer to your child. Giving the answer deprives your child's teacher of needed feedback to tailor instruction to your child's needs.

5) Check your own attitudes about homework. If you didn't like homework when you were younger, chances are you may implicitly impart this message to your child. The messages you send about homework can be subtle. If you say, "Just get it done/over with" or "I know it's just busy work", you send that message to your child that homework does not have value. Instead, emphasize that homework is a way to share with you all the interesting things they have learned in school, and teaches good work habits. Praise the process, not the outcome. "I like how hard you are working on your math facts" or "Look at you working through that tricky question and not giving up!" sends a message that learning is a process, not a product.

6) Acknowledge and address difficulties if homework becomes a nightly struggle. Tell your child that you can see that homework is frustrating for him/her and resolve to figure it out together. You may need to enlist the support of your child's teacher, or the school psychologist. School sites often have student success teams in which key stakeholders get together and problem solve academic difficulties and put interventions and supports in place. Sometimes, there are after school tutoring programs, modified assignments, or additional community resources that can be tapped into to help your child.

Secondary School: Middle & High (6-12th grade)

In addition to all of tips above, there are a few special considerations for students in secondary school:

1) Parents should think of their role as changing from the elementary years as a "Homework Manager" to the adolescent years as a "Homework Facilitator." Chances are, if your child developed good homework habits in elementary school, they will continue into the secondary grades. Offer yourself as a support or resource if they get stuck on assignments, and check in periodically to make sure that they are feeling competent in their homework. If the first progress report of the year comes back with low homework grades, then you can have a discussion with your child about changes that need to be made in your role.

2) If your child struggled with homework in elementary school, chances are they may experience more challenges in middle and high school because they will have more teachers and subjects to juggle. In this case, you may need to have a conversation with your child that you would like to support them in making homework an easier and more fun process for them and brainstorm supports. Again, you may be looking at incentive systems as well as increased communication with teachers for the student who is not motivated by completion or grades alone.

3) It is important to impart the message that you are involved in their homework because you care. Teenagers often want to have a sense of control, and sometimes see parent monitoring as a negative trait, that they don't trust them or are trying to control them. Reinforce that you are involved because you want them to do well in school and feel proud of their work. Assure them that you will not need to manage their homework routines when they start showing responsibility.

4) If your child complains that they don't want to do homework, check to make sure that it is not because they can't do their homework, or they have difficulties writing down assignments, planning for long-term assignments, or remembering what to do. Often, adolescents would rather look defiant than incapable. Collaborate with your child's teachers in the areas they are resisting homework to make sure there isn't a larger problem underneath the resistance. Your school psychologist is another resource for better understanding your child's challenges and problem-solving interventions to support him/her.

5) Teenagers also need homework routines. They may be more involved in determining the time and location than in the elementary years. They may say that they have more energy to do homework at night, or they want to do homework with friends. As long as they are completing their work and going to bed at a reasonable time, this can be allowed. You can also let your teenager suffer the natural consequence of staying up super late--they will be tired and cranky the next day and may think twice about procrastinating in the future.

6) If you are finding yourself in a nightly battle over homework, and it is putting a strain on your relationship with your teenager, consider outside assistance. At times, there are peer tutors at the school who can work with students on homework. College students often offer tutoring and study skills assistance. Since many teens are socially motivated, working with an older peer on homework may be a good solution to removing yourself from the negative interaction.

And I'm off....get ready for the famous Kindergarten quotes of the day...

This Week, with Debbie Downer

Husband is so great. Whenever there’s a news show about education, he TiVos it for me and we watch it together. Even on our 1st anniversary, while vacationing, he noticed that CSPAN was covering an education debate and we watched it together. He even lets me yell at the TV, and pauses for my commentary. Now that’s true love, right? So many times, I would love to hop in the TV and shake the politicians who don’t get it.

Case and point: This morning,“This Week with Christiane Amanpour” had its yearly education debate. I say yearly, because they NEVER talk about education on these shows except for the one week before school starts. Education gets the shaft in coverage on the news. So this morning, I got all excited for my 8-minute segment about education.

Then, Arne Duncan, Education Secretary opened his mouth. Allow me to summarize:

We need to do what works and not do what doesn’t work!

Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers added,

We should start doing what works and stop doing what doesn’t!

Michelle Rhee, chancellor or DC schools:

We should keep good teachers and get rid of bad teachers.

AAARRRG. I suppose it is hard to get to anything of substance in 8 minutes, to their credit. There was some banter about teacher evaluations and student performance that had some actual substance, but if I was left with only stupid talking points. Mind you, none of those talking points mentioned mental and physical health as a component in student achievement.

*Dusts off soap box*

People. You can’t learn if you don’t feel well emotionally or physically. You can be the best teacher in the world, but if your students come to you with trauma and bad health, you have a greater challenge. Poverty is no longer a sentence for underachievement, but it certainly makes things harder for teachers, who have to be teacher, social worker, mom, educator, and advocate. What is the incentive for teachers and school psychologists to work in poorer schools, with less resources and more challenges? I mean, other than the obvious great sense of civic pride, social justice, and great cocktail conversations (e.g. “Today I talked a kid with a knife down from a flagpole. How was your day?).?*

*Sigh*

The politicians just don’t get it. They aren’t at the schools every day, trying to close the achievement gap from a janitor’s closet or shoddy classroom with outdated computers that don’t print, and no materials or support. Wake up, people. As my dear Internet BFF Mrs. Mimi says, “You can’t fire poverty, so they fire teachers.” Are there crap teachers I wish would go away? Yes. Are there super teachers who should get paid CEO salaries for all they do? Yes. But blaming the teachers is not right. So, what should we do? I don’t want to be all Arne on you and say “let’s be innovative and do new things!” and have no substance.

My answer is simple and biased.

In high poverty schools, hire more mental health professionals. It’s a simple Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs situation. If you don’t have your primary needs of safety, food, health, and belonging, you are less free emotionally to learn. Think of a time when you just found out a friend or family member died. Maybe you have a time in your life when you were a victim of a crime—think of your emotional state. Or even think of a really difficult time in your life when you weren’t sure if you could pay your bills. Did you feel free to sit down and read a novel for fun? Were you inclined to do algebra algorithms to soothe yourself? Or did you need support from another human being to get back to functioning normally? Well imagine you are a kid with trauma or worries and you don’t have strong coping skills or an adult to support you. You are not ready for learning. Often, our teachers in poor areas become de-facto counselors as well as teachers.

I am always struck by the contrast between my poorer schools and my more affluent schools. Each year, I return to school by going to my multiple sites and sitting in on professional developments. Year after year, in the poorer schools, we talk about sparking motivation and a sense of safety and belonging in students, and we try to garner outside resources we could pull in to help our students. In my schools in affluent neighborhoods, we talk about new composting programs, new PTA-sponsored programs, and how hard it is to show improvement in test scores when the majority of the school is already at the top.

Is anyone else depressed? So sorry to be all Jonathan Kozel on you. I’ll leave you with this palate-cleansing image:



Now, we go forth and do the good work that we know makes a difference. Even if our test scores don’t always show it. Oh, and grab yourself an awesome spouse who lets you rant about education all the time. It really helps.

*Awesome side note: At my reading for The Teachable Moment, a presenter overhead an audiance member say, "Wow, I had no idea school psychologists were so...gritty." Spread the word. We are full of courage and resolve. Also, covered in grit.

There is Still Time. Go Get this Book.

Back to School. I love the clothes shopping, seeing my colleagues again, and of course, seeing the middle schoolers now taller than me. Each year, I start out with the best intentions to be more organized, more efficient, and less stressed than the last year. To that end, this summer, I started researching good resources for educators--for both teachers and school psychologists alike. With Response to Intervention (RtI) becoming all the rage, (albeit kind of at a glacially slow pace in some schools and districts), school psychologists are more and more needing to have a good understanding of class-wide interventions and curriculum. I know, we are usually the gate keepers to one particular intervention (special education), but we really are evolving from gate keepers into key masters and key mistresses of all interventions through RtI. Should I get make us all Key Mistress shirts and sell them on the blog? No? Too much?

Anyhoo. As a reader of many blogs, I am always looking for ones that offer practical, research-based advice for teachers. We all know that theory and practice are disconnected sometimes, especially for new teachers. As school psychologists, we often consult with teachers about particular students, but at times, the solution can be classroom wide and help all students. And I give you, the mother of all practical resources: The Cornerstone: Classroom Management That Makes Teaching More Effective, Efficient, and Enjoyable.



This book is by Angela Watson (formally Powell), one of my go-to gals for interventions. She has a website for teachers and writes a great blog. She put together this fab resource in her SPARE TIME. The book covers everything from organizing your room at the beginning of the year, figuring out all your procedures for managing paperwork, setting up a class-wide positive behavior classroom management plan, to specifics for running centers, handling peer conflicts, and bathroom breaks. I mean, this woman has thought of all contingencies.

I sat down with Angela in her Florida home one Saturday afternoon with mint juleps, and interviewed her. Actually, I'm lying. I wish I was in Florida with a mint julep. I emailed her and asked her these burning questions:

1) What gave you the idea to start your blog and create The Cornerstone book for teachers?

When I first started teaching, I visited lots of teacher message boards to see what other people were doing. I didn't have a lot of ideas of my own yet, but I shared some of my basic classroom management strategies and people were like, wow, I never thought of that--it's so simple and yet it totally works! Eventually I noticed teachers were asking the same type of questions over and over (How do you get kids to be quiet in the hallway? What can I do about their disgustingly messy desks?), so I thought it would be easier to type up one response and put it on a web page, then just link people to my answer. That was 2003, and Ms. Powell's Management Ideas for Teachers was born! Over the years, I kept adding new classroom photos and printables. The blog and book just felt like the next natural steps.

2) Um, when did you have the time to write this gem? I mean, seriously, are you the world champion of time management and organization?

The book's motto is "Learn how to create a self-running classroom that frees you to teach" and I apply the same principles to my life: all my routine tasks are basically self-running which frees me to, well, do what I love and share it with other people. I cook large, simple meals 2 or 3 times a week and eat variations of the leftovers on the other days. My beloved Roomba vacuums for me. All my bills are automatically debited from my account online and I only run errands if something can't possibly be handled on the Internet. Even my cat's life is totally self-running: she has an automated litter box cleaner, an automatic waterer, and a food dispenser that puts out 1/2 cup every twelve hours. I spend a total of 5 minutes a week on cat upkeep. My husband is old-school and thinks I'm a bit over the top, but you can't argue with what works.

3) How do you think school psychologists could use this resource? (I know for one, that the movement to RtI means that school psychologists will be in the classrooms more than ever, and need resources for teachers)

Since working in a school somehow means you're destined to be surrounded by massive amounts of paper, I think the ideas for easy-to-maintain organizational systems, avoiding the paper trap, and keeping documentation records will be useful for school psychs. I also think it will help them relate to children in a large group setting; the story you tell in The Teachable Moment about your disastrous first attempt at conducting a whole class discussion is really common! It takes a special skill set to keep 30 squirming or surly kids engaged, and I've tried to convey some innovative ways to do that through the book.

4) Pretend I'm a first year teacher. What is THE most important thing they don't teach me in teacher preparation programs?

Having clearly-defined, modeled, and reinforced procedures will truly save your sanity. Otherwise you will spend four hours preparing a fabulous lesson, only to have it ruined by a kid who gets up in the middle to use the noisy pencil sharpener (leaving shavings all over the desk and floor), which will serve as the impetus for seven other children to suddenly decide that they, too, have impossibly dull pencils and must race over to sharpen them right. this. second, and then make a meandering trip over to the water fountain on the way back to their seats. There are lots of different ways to solve practical problems like these, so I've suggested a bunch of different options so teachers can choose what works for them, and then use a basic set of steps to introduce the expectation to students and train them how to be successful at meeting it.

5) Your book is super practical. Where have you been all my life? Do you find most education resources to be theory-based rather than practical? Where can teachers and school psychologists go for additional resources when they are in the trenches and nothing they learned in graduate school seems to be working as planned?

I love that teachers don't have to rely solely on formal professional development classes anymore--you can find pretty much anything you need online. I have a fabulous network of people that I rely on for ideas and resource recommendations through their websites, blogs (Google Reader is a lifesaver), Twitter feeds, and Facebook. The edu-tech gurus call this creating your own personal learning community or network (PLC/PLN). There are so many new resources being created daily for teachers, and lots of them are free. I love to explore online, and then compile the best stuff I find on my website.

6) Anything else you want to share? Please say new book, please say new book....

Yes, book #2 is in the works! The Cornerstone is the practical guide to managing a classroom, but there's actually something even more critical to effective teaching: the right attitude. It's so easy to get discouraged, frustrated, and bogged down in all the bureaucratic nonsense that teachers have to juggle, especially in urban classrooms. I'm hoping to share ways teachers can establish a mindset that will get them through even the toughest of days.

You know you want this book. Click on the Cornerstone icon on the right side of this blog under "Go on, Buy Yourself Something Pretty." Mama gets a 4 cent kickback, I think. In 10 years, I could buy a latte.

Whatcha Doin' on Sunday?

Friends, for those of you in the San Francisco Bay area, I am hosting a book reading for The Teachable Moment book I edited! Joining me in reading a little sumthin' sumthin' will be two of my favorite school psychologists/contributors to the book. Come one, come all, this Sunday, August 22nd at 3pm to hear yours truly read from the book and schmooze with other fabulous educators! I would love to meet readers of the blog.

The event is at Diesel, A Book Store in Oakland at 5433 College Ave (Rockridge area--by the Rockridge BART for you SF peeps). As an added incentive, husband is baking his world famous chocolate chip cookies.

For those of you not in the Bay Area, go on and charter your jet and come for a long weekend. San Francisco is lovely this time of year (you know, cruelly RIGHT when school starts)

More deets are here

p.s. What should I wear? Channel Shoshona Shauenmbaum, therapist from United States of Tara, or Nicki, second sister wife from Big Love? ;) Or maybe sport one of my power IEP school psychologist costumes?

Back To School Tips...For US!

Friends, how did it happen? How is it back to school already? In a previous post, I wrote about the three summer phases, the last being the most glorious--the relaxation phase. I have gotten so good at Phase 3, it's a shame to give it up, really. This summer, however, I did not master my goals of becoming bilingual, learning to reupholster vintage furniture, or finishing my book. I know, its shocking. But I did master removing all nasty spider-infested junipers from my yard on a juniper murdering spree involving a power saw. I also read a bunch of YA fiction books (for research!) about vampires and teens with superpowers (for research!). Lastly, I baked an apple pie from scratch. I mean, that's gotta count for something from the gal whose cooking repertoire is limited to spaghetti, wheat thin nachos (yum), and those cookies you can cut from a log of dough and pretend you made. If only I had one more month of Phase 3...

HOWEVER, I think I failed to mention (repressed?) in my previous post about Phase 4: The Panic Phase. Apparently it occurs right about...*glances at watch*, one week before school starts up again. How will I get up with an alarm 5 days a week? Will my brain work again? Am I ready to take on breaking the cycle of poverty and closing the achievement gap from my janitorial closet?

A few years ago (wow! my blog is so established--almost 4 years, peeps!), I posted a list of things parents can do to help their
their kids with a smooth back to school transition. I am reposting it now, but this time, with notes for US.

Before School Starts
1) Mark your calendar with important dates.
Ok, so we all know the important dates, like that looming FIRST DAY OF WORK one in our iCals or old skool planners. But let's also mark the holidays, shall we?

2) Buy school supplies early. Try to fill the backpacks a week or two before school starts.
No problem, right? Retail therapy. It's good. It does help the B2S transition for me to get all new supplies. Oh sure, I'm hemorrhaging money right now because of Target and Office Depot, but I feel more ready to return to school having a trunk full of Moon Sand, new play therapy games, and an unreasonable amount of new writing utensils.

3) Reestablish the bedtime and mealtime routines at least one week before school starts. Include pre-bedtime reading and household chores if these were suspended during the summer.
Gak! That means this week I cannot stay up until midnight watching United States of Tara and sleeping in? I do not like this. Not one bit. But I'll do it. I'll do it for the children.

4) Turn off the TV. Encourage your child to play quiet games, do puzzles, color, or read as early morning activities instead of tv. This will help ease your child into the learning process and school routine. If possible, maintain this practice throughout the school year.
Again with the TV hating? Perhaps this one is only for the children, right? I'm rationalizing again. Fine, I'll read over breakfast. I do have this one last YA fiction book I need to finish...(for research!)

5) Visit school with your child in advance if your child is young or in a new school.
Oh hell no! I am not visiting the district office or my school sites. I remember them well.

6) Designate a clear place to do homework.
Read: designate a clear place to write psychoeducational reports/grade papers/lesson plan. Ok, that's fun, and may involve me purchasing that great Mid-Century Modern secretary desk I've had my eye on.

Overcoming School Anxiety

1) Let your child know you care. If your child is anxious about school, send personal notes in the lunch box or book bag. Reinforce the ability to cope.
I am going to tell my husband to put notes in my test kits that I will have to lug around.

2) Do not over react. If the first few days are a little rough, try not to over react.
I will try.

3) Acknowledge anxiety over a bad experience the previous year (e.g. bullying, difficulty with academics or making friends). Contact the school to confirm that the problem has been or will be addressed.
Hm. N/A, for most of us, I hope!

4) Arrange play dates or get-togethers with some of your child’s classmates before school starts and during the first weeks of school to help your child reestablish positive social relationships with peers.
Oh yeah, I got this one. My school psych friends and I have been taking weekly walks together all summer. It is good to remember that you will see your super-colleagues again soon and get to socialize.

5) If problems arise, you may want to contact the school to set up an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher and school psychologist. They may be able to offer support or suggest other resources.
Oh, that's me. Um, yeah, I guess I need to work on sprucing up my janitor's closet to be ready. Here's hoping for a rodent and vermin free school year!

Please, please, post your own Back to School Tips. I am in Phase 4 just thinking about it.

Mistakes Are Not My Cup of Tea.

This fine Sunday morning, I decided to break out of my normal routine of lounging around and frittering away time on Facebook to take a Hula dance class (p.s. Ow.) I came home, already sore, and began to complain to my husband about how I shouldn’t break my routines. Sure, exercise is good, but did you know that hula is actually like holding a squat for an hour with your hands up while moving your hips? Ow. Anyhoo, after I demonstrated a few moves to my husband to illustrate my point, I realized that I needed to take a rest. So I started another one of my favorite Sunday rituals, preparing a cup of tea.

My tea is always so wise. It has these little sayings on the end of the tea bag that I always read, like a fortune cookie. I get a little un-Zenned when I get one I’ve had before. Thankfully, today I got a new one:

Wisdom comes from experience and experience comes from making mistakes.

Good one! I think my tea was trying to tell me that Hula class was a mistake and it is a NO in the future. Or maybe I’ve turned my tea into a projective task...It did get me thinking about mistakes though.

Raise your hand if you like making mistakes. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Yeah, I thought so. No one likes making mistakes. I am often telling my students that mistakes are how you learn, but can I appreciate it when I make mistakes? Yeah, easier said than done. One time, in my younger days as a school psychologist, I made a mistake that cost the district $30,000. Oopsie! But that is a tale for my memoirs. I do have to say I never made that mistake again, so I guess I did learn. But I beat myself up pretty bad for a while. It still stings a little. Sure, my mistakes now after 10-ish years of practice are fewer and far between, but they are still there, and I don't always take my tea's advice to think of it as a way to become wiser.

We have all probably worked with kids who are too hard on themselves too. A metaphor I often use with kids who are always beating themselves up for making mistakes is to think about a baby learning to walk. When the baby first learns, he or she makes all kinds of mistakes and falls down. Do we say, “Stupid baby! You should have known better than to fall down!” I reaaaaaally hope no one out there is saying “yes” to that rhetorical question. It’s true though, we have patience for young kids and other people trying new things, but can we as adults walk the walk too, and be okay with making mistakes?

Think about your role as a parent, teacher, school psychologist, or random lurker reading this blog because you googled “tea” or something. Can we be as patient with ourselves as we are with the kids we work with? I know right now, many of us are returning to school, or have just gone back to school, and are faced with 1000 decisions every day. Especially if you are a new teacher or school psychologist, do not be afraid to make mistakes, and do not be afraid to ask for help. Mistakes are feedback. Feedback is how you learn. I think what my tea is trying to say is to try new things and reframe each mistake or wrong decision as a little slice of learning toward your wisdom pie.

I know that if I keep up with Hula class, I’m going to be free to have all kinds of pie (wisdom or otherwise) with my tea in the future.

Did You See The Memo About…Interventions?

I’m starting a new series on this blog, called “Did You See The Memo?” because there are so many things I have to say in my job in urban public schools over and over and over and over and over again. And then one more time after that. And again. You get the point. Like that annoying boss in Office Space, I am that person asking if you got the memo about [insert special education referral process question] more than I would like to be. In the public schools, school psychologists are often the "gatekeepers" to special education assessments, deciding who can proceed for testing and who cannot. It is a role I hate, because all that energy could be spent on doing interventions with kids instead of fighting off inappropriate referrals. I know, I know, it's my job, but after 10 years of saying the same thing, you start to wonder if you have turned into a psych-bot-info-kiosk. It's one of the reasons I started this blog. You know, to mix it up. At times, I’ve fantasized about recording a conversation I have repeatedly, and then playing it back to people as needed instead of saying things again and again. Or, I could just type up the script and hand it over as a memo. That would create a lot of crying trees though, and like that fairy in Fern Gully, can’t you feel its pain?

The good news is (you know me, all about the silver lining) is that I’ve gotten pretty good at some of my schpeals (sp?) and I now get to share them with you. If you are a school psychologist, you will be nodding your head and saying, “YES. This sounds familiar.” If you are a teacher or parent who has been on the receiving end of this memo, know that I hate saying it as much as you hate hearing it. I get it. You want help for the student, and special education seems like a reasonable place to start. It can't start there for a number of reasons.*

The conversation that follows is one I have had 6, maybe 7,000 times, and it's time to convert it to a memo. It’s called:

“You can’t refer a child for special education without trying general education interventions first.”

How many of you have heard or given this speech?

Here’s the logic behind it. If you have a student struggling in reading, and he or she is not responding to the general education curriculum, standard teaching practices, or even extra help in the classroom, you begin to wonder why. Fair enough. I do too. Now let’s say I test this student (we’ll call her Sally), for a reading disability. Let’s say she has one. The intervention is to target her reading deficits and help her learn strategies. Let’s say Sally does not have a reading disability. The intervention is to target her reading deficits and help her learn strategies. Whoa! They’re the same. That’s right. There is no magical reading dust in special education, it is really just targeted intervention in the area of need with ongoing progress monitoring. A lot of the time, special education is basically just good teaching.

So I say, why not give Sally intervention in the first place, when she first shows signs of difficulty, way before she is so far behind that we spend 6 months in a bureaucratic-laden process to call her “disabled”? If after 6 months of intervention and good data collection, you will have a lot of information to work with if you end up doing an evaluation. But logic will get you nowhere in a school district that is under-resourced or hasn't bought into a response to intervention(RtI) framework yet.

All too frequently, special education becomes the only intervention, and that is just sad. There has to be an intervention before you can make a case that you need special intervention. Also, not all students with disabilities need special education. They may just need modifications in the general classroom. That is why I am repeatedly asking what interventions have been done in general education before I will entertain the need for a special education evaluation. I need to be convinced the problem can’t be remediated with targeted intervention in general education before I suspect a disability or a need for special education. Nevermind that you could go through the whole special education testing process and find there is no disability and that whole time you could have been doing something for the student.

Also, one of the “rule outs” of learning disability is that the problem isn’t due to other factors (second language acquisition issues, hearing or vision issues, poor instructional opportunities, poor attendance, etc). You can’t find out if the problem is truly neurological unless you rule out the environmental causes. The best way to do that is to provide the intervention and see if the student responds to it.

Now let’s make an important distinction between supports and interventions. I have sat in many student success team meetings (they are called several different names, but they are basically strategic parent-student-teacher-specialists meetings where interventions are generated for a struggling student.) At these meetings, ideas are generated about how to help students. Nine times out of ten, the “interventions” are actually supports. Here’s what I mean. Let’s play “spot the intervention” in the list below:

1) Sally will do her homework at a special desk at home
2) Sally will remain on task during silent reading
3) Mom will read with Sally 20 minutes a day
4) Mom will peak in the classroom from time to time to make sure Sally is working
5) Sally will not flirt with boys during silent reading time.

Ha! Trick question! There are no interventions in that list. There are only supports and expectations for Sally. So let’s put yourself in Sally’s shoes through an analogy. Let’s say you are in a foreign country and you are having difficulties reading in that language. Let’s say it’s Mandarin. Let’s say you get the 5 “interventions” above. Will this help your reading? Meh. Maybe? Or if you don’t know what you’re reading and you don’t have the skills, you might just sit at your special desk at home or during silent reading and just stare at the books you can't read. And as an added bonus, your mom is checking in on you and you can’t do fun stuff like interact with others. Now let’s say the intervention is a 6 week program with a Mandarin reading tutor who teaches you vocabulary, sound-symbol correspondence, Mandarin pronunciation, and does guided reading with you to give you corrective feedback. Will this help your reading? Um, I’m pretty sure it would.

The bonus is you can also do intervention PLUS supports. Just don’t leave out the intervention and then expect a school psychologist to take your referral for testing a student for a disability seriously. My eyes hurt sometimes from holding back the eye-rolling when I see only supports on pre-referral paperwork. I know the referrals come from a place of caring for the student and wanting to see progress. But let’s not be surprised when students have no intervention and do not progress. Friends, it’s not that your school psychologist doesn’t want to test the student for a disability, it’s that s/he doesn’t have any evidence that the problem can’t be remediated with a decent targeted intervention. And this is a clause that is in the law that we have to consider. It's a two part deal: 1) Have a disability, 2) Need special education. So if the students needs can be met in general education, no matter what their processing and IQ scores are, they don't qualify for special education. You can't find that out if you haven't tried targeted interventions first.

Sadly, here’s the rub. At some school sites, there are no decent targeted interventions because the school can’t afford a reading specialist or intervention specialist. Not all parents can afford outside support either. And here we have the perfect example of theory and practice being at odds. I totally get why special education is so popular as an "intervention." And I know teachers are doing their best with the resources they (don't) have. I get that they get blamed if the student is not progressing. And parents worry that their child will slip through the cracks. I'm with you. But I fear if urban public schools don't shift to RtI soon, I will have to bust out my memo for years to come. And nobody likes the person with the daily memo that says the same thing. Yeah....


*It can start there in the private sector. There is nothing stopping any interested parent from getting a private evaluation to undercover a student's learning strengths and areas of need and if there is disability causing academic or social challenges. In the public schools, its a whole another ball of legal and procedural wax. So to speak.