“Labor” Day Confession—Why I Didn’t Go Back to School This Year

I have a confession. I didn’t go back to work as a school psychologist in the public schools this year.

You may or may not have noticed an absence of back to school posts and tweets and Facey Face posts about how the school year has gone so far. No Kindergarten quotes of the day, no status updates or posts about vermin in my office, no posts about cute attacks in the Kinder class, nothing. In fact, you maybe noticed a general drop off in posts over the past, oh, 9 months…

That is because I was busy making a person! Who knew making a person with your body could be so exhausting? (Besides anyone who has been pregnant before). This was my first, so it was all new for me. I mean, wow. It really wears a gal out. It turns out that blogging is the last thing on one’s mind after working AND making a person all day. I am fairly proud of myself for posting anything at all last semester! During my pregnancy, while I didn't enjoy the fatigue and weird comments adults would make about my weight (e.g. "Whoa! There's a 3000 lb weight limit on this elevator, you might want to take the next one!" or "Are you sure there's only ONE in there?" and "Hey, Fatty! Waddle waddle!"), I did enjoy the comments made about my pregnancy by the kiddos...

• A 2nd grader and I were playing a board game and she gave me two turns because I was “playing for two people.” Cute attack.
• Around month 5, a kiddo asked me if my baby had a head yet.
• A teenager I was working with told me I should name my baby “Aquafina.” I think she was inspired by my water bottle in my office.
• A teenage boy said, “Ooh! Having a baby is gonna hurt, you should get high before you go into labor, that’s what my mom did!” Um, pass.
• A first grader shushed the whole class when I entered the room and said, “Shhhh you guys, the baby can hear you!”
• Every day in my last trimester, as I waddled into my school, a kindergartener asked, “Have you had it yet???” (clearly not!) and worse yet, “How did it get in there?” Um, ask your mom…
• A kindergartener eyed my giant belly suspiciously and asked, “What happened there???
• And finally, as I waddled into a classroom in June, looking humungous, a 7th grade boy said, “Dude. It is so messed up that they are making you work still!” Amen, little brother!

After spending most of the school year preggers, my due date was three days after I was supposed to report back to work this fall. I had my baby girl two weeks ago, on the first day of school.* Sure, I’m totally biased, but I think Baby B is perfect. I just stare at her all day (and at night, every two hours) and marvel that I made a tiny person. It's my greatest accomplishment to date.

It is quite strange to not be back at school though. I must forewarn you, I will not have any amazing material or stories to share with you for a while (unless you want to hear about diaper changes, sleep training, and my baby's sensorimotor development?). I will count on you all to keep the torch alive on the Facey Face page by sharing with everyone how back to school has been, and posting intriguing questions for the group to comment on. I will join you in the fun in a few months!

Oh, and Happy "Labor" Day! Get it? Labor? Oh, never mind, its the sleep deprivation, I think I'm being clever.

*Hey, fun fact about having a baby: Natural childbirth is no joke. I had the baby in Berkeley, and felt a bit of peer pressure to go natural (not like, a home birth with a doula/lotus flower bath natural, but like no drugs natural). After the birth, I told my husband, “Oh, look at our precious only child!” But only 2 weeks later, I have labor amnesia and could have a whole litter of newborns, and just stare at their tiny hands and button noses all day and night.

Ain’t Nuthin’ But an Educator Paaaaarty

This week was my spring break (yes, this late). It was so late this year, I almost tricked myself into thinking it was summer break. The good news is, when I go back to work tomorrow, it is practically May, so it won’t be long. You think kids are the only ones who get Spring Fever? Ha!

Anyhoo, I spent my spring break in NYC. I had only been one time before, in February, and I wrote off the entire city at that point for being a miserable place. Turns out, in the spring, it’s lovely! Who knew? Everyone but me, probably. I had a great time touring the city with my husband when the weather was nice enough to enjoy it. But by far the best part was meeting up with my Internet BFF, "Mrs. Mimi" for the first time.


People, if you don’t know “Mrs. Mimi” of Its Not All Flowers and Sausages blog, you simply must. She is a teacher who GETS IT. We became Internet besties a few years ago and we are just one broken heart necklace away from being Best Friends in real life too. We met on the Upper West Side (West Siiiiiiide!)* for brunch. It was totally an East Coast meets West Coast Educator Party. It was kind of like when 2Pac and Snoop Dogg got together to make Gangsta Party and they done just put two of Amerikaz most wanted in the same *bleep* place at the same *bleep* time. Wait, they were both west coast rappers. Nevermind. But kind of like that, but not. I digress. ANYHOO, it was a bi-coastal urban-education-love-fest. My husband couldn’t believe we had never met before, the way we were talking nonstop for two hours.**

And I won’t steal her thunder, but DO check her blog in the next few weeks, she has some fabulous things going on right now. Even though she is no longer in the classroom, she is doing some great things in the world of education. Sure, we miss the stories of her getting a g-string for Christmas from one of her students, stories of administrative dysfunction junction, and bodily fluid stories***, but she has some fabulous new projects in the works we will all be excited about. Plus, she has such fancy news from just this past week, I’m dying to congratulate her publicly! But you know how BFFs are, we keep these types of pinkie swear secrets quiet, and we don’t gossip into the blog-o-sphere. We just allude to them so you’ll check out her blog.

After we talked shop over brunch for over an hour, she suggested we go eat the world’s best chocolate chip cookies together (seriously, she’s a gal after my own heart). Could she be more fabulous? The cookies were a.ma.zing. And so was meeting the infamous Mrs. Mimi.

*Sorry, I have 2Pac Tourettes from time to time. RIP, 2Pac *tips 40 to his mem’ry*
**Hubby is such a trooper. His eyes only glazed over a few times as we talked about the state of public education today.
***For more stories, get her fab book by the same name—just clicky click here or on the right side of my blog under “Buy Yourself Something Pretty.”

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.

Don’t Worry, "Shameless Self-Promotion Week" Lasts Only a Week.

Friends, I have been gestating a book baby for 2 years now. It was waaaaaaay overdue. There were many pains in getting it delivered. But it’s here! Weighing less than a pound, my book baby was born on Tuesday!



As many of you who follow my Facey Face page already know, “The Teachable Moment: Seizing the Instants When Children Learn” is an anthology by educators (teachers and school psychologists alike) on how to reach the hard-to-reach student. The contributors represent an All-Star lineup of fabulous teachers and school psychologists. For example:

Mrs. Mimi of It’s Not All Flowers and Sausages fame. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry. You’ll love her story of teaching a little "Muppet" to read.

Katherine Briccetti, author extraordinaire, fancy memoir writer, and Super Psychologist. You will wish you had her powers of de-escalating students who are flipping out.

Susan DeMersseman, contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle, and an all around amazing psychologist and writer tells a tale of how a little girl teaches her a little something about how to deal with teasing.

Damian Bariexca of A Pace of Change writes on how to eliminate Shakes-fear in your students. I still have a touch of the Shakes-fear. I could relate to his students.

Alistair Bomphray of Teacher, Revised writes on that special moment when you realize your student may just be high on marijuana.

Tiffany Grizzle of Momasaurus Rex (oh I love that title!) is a mom and a teacher who writes about how to trick kids into learning. I love it.

Randy Howe, fellow anthology author of One Size Does Not Fit All: Diversity in the Classroom, the companion to my book, writes about a girl who shows up early every day to refuse to do work. Awesome.

And, who else... Ah yes, Moi! I wrote a few pieces in there too. One piece is funny, and one is so NOT funny it's funny. Total "awkward moment" situation. You'll learn a little sumthin’ sumthin’ on crisis management. Hoo boy, school psychologists, you will relate to my tale, I’m sure!

And for those of you parents out there who are wondering, “Say, what should I get my child’s teacher as a thank you for the end of the year?” may I shamelessly recommend The Teachable Moment? I may, as it is my blog. Go on and click here or on the right of my blog under “Go on, Buy Yourself Something Pretty.”

This concludes Shameless Self Promotion Week.

You are My Fire, People.

I used cognitive behavior therapy techniques on myself this morning in order to get my “ssa backwards”* to the gym today. Sometimes, you have to light your own fire, so to speak. I told myself: “You never feel worse after going to the gym” and “You are stressed from end-of-year assessment panic season and you will feel better.” Those didn’t work to motivate so I tried, “Those vegan candy bars you have been eating every day are not actually healthy just because they are vegan, missy.” That one sealed the deal.

I arrived to find my favorite machine available**. I put in my headphones and shuffled my music. Music is amazing how it can trigger memories, isn’t it? When I hear Salt ‘N Pepa, I think of junior high, when I hear Frank Sinatra, I am transported back to my first dance with husband at our wedding. I have long thought that music is a great way to reach students as well. I know that I still sing a stupid skip-count song in my head when doing multiplication. Those jazzy "Skip Count Kid" songs are burned into every layer of my brain.

Anyhoo, when my heart rate was about 145, within my target heart rate, a song came on that reminded me of a class of middle school students with developmental disabilities. I just can’t escape work. But this particular song made me smile, and you will love that it is a Backstreet Boys song. Hello. My name is Rebecca, and I like the Backstreet Boys. Because I am apparently a 12 year old girl in the late 1990s. So I am totally going to date myself, but this song, I Want it That Way was enormously popular in my first year of graduate school when I was doing my first year placement in the schools. Allow me to refresh your memory. *warms up voice* Mi mi mi mi…

You are my fire
My one desire
Believe when I say
I want it that way

Is it coming back to you yet? If I was fancy, I would know how to put an MP3 file of the song on my blog entry. So why does this remind me of a class of developmentally delayed students? Because I met this teacher who had his class put together a music video to this song. I’m not sure what standard it was related to, but I’m sure some tech one. In any event, the teacher showed me the video and it was friggin’ awesome. It reminded me of a bad karaoke video. The kids were playing out the lyrics, but they were super literal about it.

You are my fire was met with an image of a flickering flame
My one desire: kid holds up a sign with the number 1 on it
Believe me when I say I want it that way: kid points to another kid and nods his head.

I mean, how awesome is that? Then it became a bit more “abstract” as the two kids held hands around the school and pretended they were in love and stuff. But nerdy me always thinks of this as a good example of how kids move from the concrete to the abstract in learning concepts. Literal analysis is expected of younger students and students with developmental delays. I once had a kid with autism freak out on me because I said, “Give me your hand” and he thought I literally wanted to take his hand, not hold it. I have had parents worry that their kids don’t understand idioms, don’t make inferences in reading or get the big idea, or only understand math algorithms and not the concept behind it.

So how do you help kids move from the concrete to the abstract? Teachers will know these things, but I thought I’d spell out some general ideas and let all y’all contribute more:

1) You must understand typical cognitive development in order to calibrate when difficulties with abstract thinking are normal or an area of difficulty. I think of one of the grandfathers of developmental psychology, Jean Piaget, who has a beautiful theory about when kids’ levels of abstraction develop.*** To oversimplify, kids are not “mini-adults” capable of reasoning like we do. They do not begin to grasp abstract concepts fully until around age 12, and even then, there is variability. Younger kids can make abstractions, but often need concrete materials to do so.

2) Use concrete aides to illustrate abstract concepts. For example, if you are working on helping early elementary kids categorize and think of the “big idea”, you could borrow from my favorite gal, Maria Montessori, and use materials. Get a bunch of objects/toys/pictures and have kids sort them into categories (e.g. transportation, food, things you use in school, things you use in the kitchen, fruits)

3) In math, use actual manipulatives to teach abstract concepts. For example, use a balance to teach equivalence, use base-10 blocks or money to teach place value, or use 3-D objects for geometry, etc.

4) For older students, creating meaningful, real-world examples is another way to help with abstraction. For example, use surveys to teach statistics, have a mock trial to teach civics, role-play a fake stock market to teach about the great depression (um, or about today's economic crisis), use gardening to teach science, measurement, and math, teach metacognitive reading strategies on how to connect text to other text, yourself, and your world. Make writing meaningful with these strategies.

5) Understand that having a disability can pose challenges for abstract thinking. For example, students with auditory processing problems or students on the autism spectrum may need assistance in non-literal language (e.g. idioms, nuance, inference). Students with developmental delays, like my video-making friends, may need real-world modeling, concrete aides, and explicit instructions/explanations (e.g. “you are my fire” is a term that some people use to say they love someone, because they feel warmth in their hearts).

6) So. Much. More. I have only touched the tip of the iceberg (not literally) on how to make abstract concepts concrete. Now it’s your turn to share your favs…be sure to include what age group you work with!

p.s. You are all my fire...for writing this blog, that is.

*Term courtesy of my mom. Love it.
**I wish there was a velvet rope around this machine. It is the only one that monitors heart rate and I just love data. Nerd alert.
***I am full of distractions today. But know that my old advisor from Berkeley met Jean Piaget in the 1960s and flew with him in a helicopter from Berkeley to San Francisco to catch a flight instead of driving the 15 miles to the airport. Who knew that generating a theory of development was so lucrative?

Mindful Dishwashing and Rainbows

I once was forced to go to this professional development for psychologists on “teaching mindfulness,” which is basically the idea that kids (and adults) benefit from being aware and present. I have to say, I was really hoping for the latest brain-based research on the mind-body connection, because I love me some data. Instead, it was hours of us practicing out own mindfulness. During the busiest time of the year, we were taken through a series of activities such as breathing like rainbows, with arms outstretched in a slooooooow arc, and mindful walking. That’s right. Mindful walking. We all had to walk super sloooooooow and be really aware of how our foot felt touching the ground and whatnot. Let me tell you, I was mindfully texting the whole time, because I had a to-do list a mile long.

I’m afraid mindfulness is not for me. I find yoga too slow (next pose! next pose!) and I quit Tae Kwon Do after the first month because I just wanted to kick in some things and Master Kang insisted on a slow process where you have to have patience and stuff. And I certainly couldn’t relate to the presenter when she said, “I am so mindful, that when I put down the dish soap, I really feel it. It’s amazing.”

I have channeled all of my energy into my life and work, and school psychology appears to be a good match for me. Every day is different, there are tons of deadlines, crises, and things that have to be done right away. I go! go! go! All day long. There is no time for rainbows and walking super slow, thank you very much.

Well dang it if sometimes, the things we are resistant to actually end up being just what we need.* The very thing I rolled my eyes at at the "professional development" became pretty useful last night when I was in traffic on the San Francisco Bay Bridge trying to get home, with 8 hojillion people. After an hour, I had made it exactly one half mile towards my home. Every time I inched forward, a car would cut me off and I’d be in the same friggin’ spot. Then, a small snail surpassed me (in my mind) and I found myself getting increasingly annoyed. There was only crappy music on, and NPR had a lame guest. Then, I generously let this guy in my lane, in an effort to pay it forward and whatnot, and there was no “thank you” wave. RUDE. But, instead of getting even more upset, I took a breath, and started trying the mindfulness crap. I started by generating reasons for his rudeness, mindfully.

1) Perhaps his wife is in labor and he is trying to get to the hospital and is so distracted by his joy and anticipation that he is going to be a dad that he failed to notice my generosity.

2) Perhaps he lost his peripheral vision in his left eye in the Gulf War and did not see that I was so generous to let him in. A clear war hero deserves to get home .4 seconds before I do.

This went on and on in my head, and then I found myself laughing. On a roll, I started thinking of all the positive things I could think of in that moment, like the fact that I am in this car in a commute because I have a job in a recession. I was suddenly also mindful of being in my warm, toasty, comfy car. I became aware that a fabulous song had just came on the radio.** My mood lifted. I started singing and dancing to myself, and when I hit my crescendo, I suddenly became mindful that the people in the cars around me were staring at my erm…performance… and they were smiling. A guy gave me a thumbs up and laughed, and a motorcycle dude gave me a fist pump of approval. Mindfulness worked.

But I’m still not going to be mindful of the dishwashing soap as I clean up after Thanksgiving dinner. Old habits die hard, what can I say?


*Example: When my best friend tried to get me to join Facebook, I rolled my eyes and thought, “Why would I need to join that?” I stand corrected, Kendra. I love Facebook now. Especially the lively discussions that have ensued on the blog fan page recently. I will be sure to give thanks tomorrow on Thanksgiving if you stop by and become a fan!

**It wasn’t Air Supply’s classic ballad, “Making Love out of Nothing At All” if that’s what you’re getting at.

Call the Fire Marshall, I Need a Nap

In the spirt of last year's post Back to Work in the Public School, By the Numbers, I shall give an update one year later. And because I love data, I have calculated the percentage change over time. Nerd alert.

Number of Icebreakers: 0
This number is down 7000%. How did I do it? How did the ice get broken without me this year? How did I get away with no trust falls or snap cups? I'll tell you. I got married and changed my email and I missed the emails about the retreat. I would not recommend this strategy to others. I secretly missed the snap cup. And I just don't know if I can trust anyone on my school site to catch me if I fall off the auditorium stage wearing inappropriately high heeled shoes, like I did last year. (Yeah, no post-link to that, I was too embarrassed to write a post because I had just warned the 8th grade girls about high heeled shoe dangers.)

Number of Schools Assigned to Me: 2
Down 33%! TWO? Seriously? How is this possible? Most school psychologists have 3-5 schools. I cannot tell you my secret, or I fear I will get another school assigned to me.

Ratio of School Psychologist (Me!) to Students: 1:700
Less schools, more students. Go figure.

Number of Dead Rodents/Swarms* of Ants Discovered in Office: 0
100% decline. Hallelujah!

Number of Crying Children Consoled: 5**
This ratio is up because we have two new Kindergarten classes this year at one of my schools. It is a Spanish immersion program so there is NO ENGLISH at all in the classes. I want to spend every day in there to practice my Spanish, which is intermediate at best. I have imagined the following conversation between me and my principal:

P: We need to talk about how much time you're spending in the Kindergarten class
Me: But I'm learning so much! Today, we read a story about a frog and I learned how to say "jump!"
P: *Sigh* Yes, but I'm getting complaints that you are raising your hand in class and blurting out answers to the teacher's questions for the children.
Me: I just want to LEARN!!!

Perhaps I should enroll in some sort of class. But the Kindergarten pace is so perfect for me. I felt for the little ones who didn't speak any English. They kept saying to me, "Why are you talking in Spanish? I don't understand! I KNOW you speak English!" What gave it away? My Lithuanian-Irish tan?

Number of Quotes that Made Me Wish I Was a Kindergarten Teacher: 8539573489

This group of girls was sitting at a table drawing and I asked on of the girls, "Hablas Espanol?" She said, "I speak poquito Espanol" and her little friend got so excited and said, "Me too! I speak mosquito Espanol too!"

This one little guy was clearly exhausted at the end of the day, with all the lining up, following new rules, and all that drawing and singing and playing, and he said to me (In the forbidden English): "Dang. I wish the fire marshall would come and tell us there's too many kids up in this school so I could go home and take a NAP." Amen, brother. Kindergarten is exhausting, especially when you're trying to figure out what everyone is saying all day. But for the first time in a long time, I came home energized, not totally wiped out. Why? Because spending time in Kindergarten evokes all my fantasies of primary prevention of school failure.

(whips out soap box)

So much of our profession is build around the "wait to fail" model of service delivery, in which we must label children as "disabled" in order for them to receive special services. Not all kids who have learning problems have learning disabilities. But when special education is the only intervention, we school psychologists get to be the evil gatekeeper of what is perceived as the only way to help a kid learn to read.

(steps down).

Whoa. Where was I? Ah yes, cute attack. There was this one little girls who spent the first 45 minutes of class crying, and periodically weeped throughout the day, when she realized she was STILL THERE. She said not one word all day (and she spoke Spanish, so it wasn't that). At the end of the turned to me as she was leaving and looked up at me with her big brown doe eyes, hugged my leg, and said, "Hasta Manana."

To take a phrase from Mrs. Mimi, I DIE.

*Or is "swarm" only for bees? Nest of ants? Family? Pod? Hm. Either way, yea for sanitation!
**My new friend, Michaele has posted a faboo list for parents and teachers about How to help kids transition to Kindergarten

Must. Write. About. Kittens.

As promised, this post involves kittens.

Okay, so it’s T-minus 2 days and counting until I return to work in the public school. I am one of those people who has always been in school, or been working in a school, so my new year always starts in August. I buy the August to August calendars, and think of the beginning of school as a good time to make New Year’s Resolutions.

1) As per last post, I am vowing to Be Positive! in the face of dysfunction. This year, I will put the “fun” in dysfunction! For those who have been following my Facebook Fan Page, I have been trying to keep things light in fighting a Bureaucracy Monster, who requests me to do such tasks as going back into time to get a tuberculosis shot. I will not let The System keep me down.

2) I vow to keep my office décor fun and friendly, yet making it clear that I work in an inspirational animal poster-free environment.*



Ah….why are you so friggin’ CUTE little kitten? This one will be difficult.

3) I vow to try and be less sarcastic when confronted with bureaucratic nonsense that keeps me from working with students. I’m told sarcasm is rooted in anger, and is a sublimation of aggression. Well then. Isn’t that great. I guess then, that I just love all the paperwork involved in working in special education. What? My resolution doesn’t start until Wednesday. Just had to get it out of my system. *Sigh* I guess this means I can’t use this poster to decorate my office this year, as it would be a double-violation (animal poster and sarcasm):



4) I vow to keep my blog up to date. But if I disappear for a while, know that I am holding onto a branch somewhere, looking cute and hanging in there.

* Also, hoping to start this school year in a dead animal in office-free environment.

Yes We Did

Question: What could possibly make 2 and a half million people stand in subarctic weather, crammed together for 6 hours waiting for a person to speak for 18 minutes?

Answer: The inauguration of Barack Obama!

I have never been so cold and so happy at the same time. Going to deliver my students’ letters to Obama was the best idea. I think my students had the sense that I would be able to trot up to Obama and hand over their letters. Try explaining symbolism to 11 year olds, it’s tricky. I simply told them, I would do my best to get them to him. And I did.

My fiancé and I traveled from California on a red-eye flight and took a bus to a train to a 20 minute walk to our hotel in Maryland. We promptly plopped down our stuff, and spent a few days before the inauguration taking it all in. Everyone was in such positive spirits. Strangers cried and hugged each other, at the simple mention of what was to take place on Tuesday.

The day before, we walked miles and miles to get to the White House, to take pictures for the students of me with their letters. There was a chant-leader guy from (where else?) San Francisco, leading groups of people who walked by with chants of “Bye Bye Bush!” The White House was actually blocked off because someone had earlier thrown a shoe over the fence at Bush (the kids loved that part, by the way). So we settled on taking photos by the Washington Monument and mailing off the letters from DC. Thanks to the wonders of the “internets” on my phone, I sent the picture right to the classroom.*



The day of the inauguration, there was a pilgrimage of sorts from Maryland that involved a broken down Metro, hours of walking through throngs of people and National Guard people and Secret Service and volunteers trying to direct us where to go, and a stealth mission through a small space between some port-a-potties to get in.** We had to, as each entry point to the mall, we were told it was full. We ultimately got in and spent the frigid hours waiting for Obama getting to know the people around us. Hey, we had like 4 hours at that point, so I made them start with their birth and move forward from there. My fiancé taped everyone around us about what the inauguration meant to them. When he puts it together, I will be showing it to my class.

I will not lie, this inauguration experience will become more and more fun as I mentally erase being cold, tired, and cramped for hours on end! I am actually amazed that there were zero arrests, given the circumstance. That is how positive and overjoyed the crowd was to be there. People who got fussy were quickly redirected to be positive. I even overheard one teenager admonish his friend who was being pushy and kind of rude, “Don’t make me kick your ass on Obama Day! We Are One, remember?” and the crowd erupted in laughter. Nothing could spoil our moment. And the second Obama came out, it was all worth it. I just hope the goodwill and hopeful spirit continues. Any time I need a reminder, I will read the copies of my kids’ letters. Especially this one.

Dear Mr. President.

I have a question for you. What does it feel like to be president? I would like to get people off the street. Because everyday when I go to school I see people sleep on the street and it just breaks my heart to just look at that it just makes me cry. I want to put up more buildings more houses and stop smoking please for everyone. When you are on a stage you can tell people to stop violence.

Sinderely,

Jacob

p.s. may be your family can please come to my house. I would be happy and then my family and I could meet you. If you receive this letter please write back.

I hope he does. Even if it is a form letter, it would mean so much to my students to feel like their new President is listening.


*I think years to come, I will be telling the tale of inauguration weekend, and my future children and grandchildren will look at the pictures and be puzzled as to why I look like I am in Russia. So maybe the faux fur hat was a bit much, but I don’t care that I looked like I belong with Dr. Zhivago, it saved me from hypothermia!

**Quote of the day: "We have been through so much crap today to get here. Literally."

My Media Darlings

It turns out that once you do one thing in the media, it apparently catches on. Who knew? My kids and I were on the local news the other night about the Letters to Obama project. Check it out by clicking here. There is one part in which I am in the corner talking to kids.

My friend, whose wife is a school psychologist, emailed me when he saw it and said, "Great job! But why do they always put the school psychologist in the corner???" I laughed out loud because we are totally behind the scenes kind of people, as evidenced by the last two offices I have had in schools being in the back of the stage of the auditorium, literally, behind the scenes. What the camera didn't get that day was me totally tearing up when they read their letters. They were so powerful and I can't wait to take them to inauguration for the kids. Note to secret service: I sound kind of stalker-y in the piece, but just remember it's more of a symbolic getting the letters to Obama!

What My Students Think About Obama

For those of you just joining us, it has been all Obama, all the time, here at Notes from the School Psychologist as we approach the upcoming inauguration. Just yesterday, my students and I were recorded by NPR's California Report about Obama's impact on urban education. I heard it on the way home tonight and I couldn't be more proud of the kids. Click below to hear my darling students on The California Report. Skip ahead to about 7:50.







And if you want to see pictures of the students in all their cuteness, click here.

Dear President Obama...

A few weeks ago, I wrote to NPR's California Report about how my students inspired me to go to Obama's inauguration (or rather, how my students inspired me to stand in the freezing cold NEAR his inauguration!). Well low and behold, NPR was so wonderful, and offered to come to one of my schools to interview me about the students, and to let the middle school kids themselves have the radio waves to tell us all what Obama's victory means to them!

We recorded it today, and I nearly O.D.'d in preciousness and pride. Their charm was set on stun, I'm telling you. I am so proud of how well they did sharing their experiences. They were so nervous, and they did just beautifully.

So tune in tomorrow to hear some of my students talk about what Obama's victory means to them! For Bay Area people, I'm told it will air tomorrow, Friday, January 8th, at 4:30p.m. and 6:30p.m. on KQED Radio Station (88.5.) For non-local people, you can listen online on KQED's Website or download the audio after it airs.

I'm so excited for them!

Happy! Happy! Joy! Joy!

You know what is lacking in urban schools sometimes? Happy people. Now I recently discovered that happiness is contagious and I would really like some people at work to get infected with a serious case.

I entered one of my schools to find that someone had gotten all festive on me and put up holiday lights, a Christmas tree (I know, I know, separation of church and state), and even a whole family of moving-light-up-reindeer. The reindeer were all awkwardly grazing on fluffy white "snow" made of quilting batting that had some extra sparkle in it for good measure. There was a sweet little tree with fake packages under it and everything. Despite the clear Christmas bias over other holidays, I thought that it was nice for someone to try to spruce (get it?) up the foyer for the holidays, and I commented on it to a co-worker.

Me: Wow! This place is all festive!
CW: Festive. At this school? Ha. (Snorts)
Me: Um, I was referring not to the school in general, but to all the lights and the cute animatronic rein…
CW: (Walks away before I can finish)
Me: (to self, quietly) Reindeer.

Sheesh! There’s only a week left until break! ‘Tis the season? No? Okay fine, I’ll go hang out with happy people then. Please excuse me while I look for the reindeer lover and thank him or her for making me happy today.

Giving Thanks

Judge each day not by the harvest, but by the seeds you plant…
[anonymous]

As I’m trying to collect stories about The Teachable Moment*, I have noticed a trend. First, the teachers I know say, “What a great idea!” and then, “Um, I don’t have any teachable moments.” “Sure you do!” I exclaim, and then they say, “I’ll think about it,” morph into the teacher-version of Eeyeore, trudge away, possibly racking their brains for a time when they made a huge difference in a kid’s life. So maybe “The Teachable Moment” sounds a bit too Hollywood, like all, “Carpe Diem! Stand on your chair and salute me in the name of literacy!” I am just looking for stories in which teachers connect with students, and teachers know they made a difference.

Turns out, that’s hard to come by, especially for new teachers. Most of my stories have been from veteran teachers who had a kid come back 20 years later and thank them. TWENTY YEARS?!? We have to wait twenty years for positive feedback? No wonder there’s a teacher shortage! That is some delayed gratification. One teacher put it to me this way: “Some days I feel like I’m pouring all my energy into sand.” I said, hopefully, “Maybe you’re pouring it into soil, and you have to wait for it to grow?” I was sort of trying to convince myself, I think.

With these new ideas rattling around in my head, I spent some of this Thanksgiving thinking of when I had given thanks to my teachers. Sheepishly, I admit, I have only explicitly thanked one of them. Shame on me! So, after my pumpkin pie-fest, I scoured Facebook, People Finders, Google, etc, for my favorite teacher from 2nd grade, Ms. Laurie Baumunk, so I could thank her.**

Ms. Baumunk was probably all of age 21 when she taught 8 year old me, fresh from Australia with a funny little accent and all. I think back to the most memorable times, and have few moments when I can think of things she taught me explicitly, but my memories are mostly an an amorphous feeling of love--Love for learning, love for my school, love for my classmates. As my blog title states, I. Loved. School. I love everything down to the the little zippers on my Kangaroo shoes that could hold my lunch ticket. I loved sorting my work into little folders. I loved writing. I loved it all.

But most of all, I loved being around Ms. Baumunk. She was warm and kind, and in my memory, angelic and softspoken. She made me want to be a teacher. I’m sure she had her bad days, and state standards and curriculum to follow, but I don’t remember any of that. I only have the visceral appreciation of her kindness. The one thing that does stand out was probably not in a state standard you could measure, but I remember her taking us all to the National Western Stock Show, which for non-Midwesterners, is like a rodeo and a place to view (or buy?) livestock. We had our own little mock-Stock Show in the class in which my drawing of a pig roped in 3rd place. Oh how I wish that were a state standard for that lesson:

Standard 27.2. Students will understand that the world’s premier livestock will be at the Denver Coliseum this weekend! Yeeeeee Haw!

I digress. What I remember about the show was that I bought a little Rabbit’s Foot and then cried on the bus home when I found out they had to kill the rabbit to get it’s foot. Ms. Baumunk comforted me and I survived my first “circle of life” discussion. I’m certain that they didn’t teach that in preservice teaching classes, and I’m certain Ms. Baumunk has no idea that I still remember her kindness decades later.

So for those teachers who don’t think they have any teachable moments, think back on your own teachers who made a difference for you in some small way, and think again.

*It’s not too late! Email me at studentsgrow@gmail.com for details on how to submit a story. It’s paid!

**I didn’t find her. I can only hope she googles her name someday and finds this. I’ll try to help it along in case I spelled her name wrong: Laurie Baumunk, Lori Baumunk, Laurie Baumonk, Lori Baumonk! Google, don’t fail me now.