Star Testing
There’s this corner store by one of my schools that is called “2 Star Groceries.”* I smirk as I go by it every day, imagining the conversation that occurred when the owners were coming up with their business name. Business Person #1: What should we call our corner store? BP #2: How about 5 Star […]
The Doctor is IN.
Recently, the edublog world has been talking about how teacher accountability might be measured in much the same way doctors are measured—by professional standards, not client outcomes (such as test scores). The argument has been made that doctors are not punished for undesired outcomes; they are accountable for doing what professionals should do given their […]
Are you Playing Around on the Job Again???
“We can be sure that all happenings, pleasant and unpleasant, in the child’s life, will have repercussion on her dolls” -Jean Piaget I have said before that school psychologists wear many hats, above and beyond being “that special ed lady.” The past few weeks I have also worn a wizard hat, a beret, a firefighter […]
Kids Say the Darnedest Things
Sometimes, when I tell people I work in middle schools, the listener’s face turns to that of someone smelling something bad. As one of my readers told me after my series on middle school students, “The tweens freak me out. I don’t know how you do it.” What can I say? I love the drama […]
The Little Engine that Could
I started out my day in an AttorneyPoloozaFest 2008 IEP meeting in which everyone blames everyone else for the child’s difficulties. Not exactly the Monday I was looking for after last week’s desire for early retirement. But in the afternoon, the School Psychology Gods shone upon me and infused me with some hope that I […]
Time for Retirement?
Apparently, the shining exuberance generated from a restful spring break has faded to a lackluster flickering light. A few posts ago, I talked about how a well-rested employee is a happy employee. I came down with a little something this week and have been trudging through this week like my feet are in molasses. I […]
New Resource for RtI
For those of you just joining Notes From the School Psychologist, Welcome! For those who have been reading for a while, you know that I have been going down a professional shame spiral at my lack of Response to Intervention (RtI) posts. I will proudly defer to the National Association of School Psychologists’ new website […]
The Audacity of Help
I have been on Spring Break, which for me, included my first road trip with fiancée. We drove down the coast to look at wedding sites and spent a good amount of time in the Santa Barbara hills being extraordinarily lost. We probably drove by Oprah hanging out at her house in Montecito and never […]
The Key to School Psychology
When I was going to graduate school, we were taught that our first experiences with a new school may be symbolic of the school culture and what we may expect throughout the year. It is also a key to how parents and kids may feel about coming into those four giant walls we call school. […]
Subliminal Messages
When I was in middle school, my friends and I came up with a way to express disdain in a secret fashion. When someone was bugging us, we’d spell really super quickly, “y.o.u.b.u.g.m.e.” to which the person would say, “what?” and we’d say, “nothing” smirk smirk. So very middle school. Something a grown woman would […]
