Oh, my head hurts

I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. I know some of you check this blog regularly and when I've not posted, you're probably wondering what's going on. Last week was not a good week for me-and this week is starting in the same vein. I worked at school from 8:00 this morning until 6:45 this evening. I am testing two kids who have suspected learning disabilities, but neither are "textbook" cases, which requires me to administer more tests to try and determine what is going on in those little brains. Those of you who are psychologists, what do you think about the VADS? Do you ever administer it?

And also last week, I had the unfortunate experience of forgetting about a staffing, and walking in unprepared. It was a re-evaluation and I had the testing done, but I was unprepared to present my report. I absolutely hated that feeling and I will NOT, if it is in my power, I will NOT do that ever again. I had two staffings scheduled tomorrow, but neither one will happen for various reasons, so I have a reprieve. Briefly. Then it's into the fire again.

I heard through the grapevine that the school I wasn't at today was in "lockdown" for part of the afternoon. That's all I've heard, so I'm anxious to get in tomorrow and find out what happened. Back in my school days, we didn't have lockdowns, but we had "bomb drills". When I was a kid in 4th, 5th, and 6th grades, during the cold war, (yes, I'm that old), we thought somebody was gonna nuke us about any time. So every month they blew a siren and we went down into the locker room and sat cross-legged on the floor with our heads down. That will prevent fallout poisoning, doncha know.

I'll try to write again this week. I'm a little stressed.

Is it spring yet?

It's been a few days since my last post, so I thought I'd leap in here and get something going before heading off to school. I've had an interesting last few days. It seems that a day doesn't go by without me learning something about this job that I didn't know the day before, and from all indications, that will continue past internship. "They" say it takes 5 years of practice before you can consider that you have reached a level of competency needed in order to function well in this job. I believe it.

Among the highlights: I worked with a kid who had an IQ 3 years ago of 128, and, who reads almost 3 grade levels below his current placement. I visited with a 5th grade kid last week who drew me a detailed picture of him in full gang regalia, with his gang name printed on his chest. There was the parent who, after a complete evaluation was done on their child which indicated a severe learning disability, will not sign off on getting their child help. And the teacher who questioned my ability to do my job. There ya go. I told you I learn something new every day.

There's ice and snow and cold, and sorta dreary days which add to the general feeling of, I'd really like spring to get here. I dreamed last night that I drove through a neighborhood and saw tulips and jonquils blooming. That's my subconscious saying, ok! Enough snow already. But my subconscious doesn't know that snow is great for wheat, and wonderful for the parched farmland around that hasn't seen enough rain the last few years. I think God knows what He's doing, even if we don't know what He's doing.

The wheatstalks are standing a little better

Well, whaddya know. WSU beat Creighton. I'm...amazed, delighted, and, well, amazed and delighted. Here's a quote from a blog from www.kansas.com: "It seems like whenever WSU is up, KU is down, and vice versa. It was nice to see them both win tough, close games against opponents that mattered!" Yes, I would agree. Wouldn't you, Michael? I'm personally thrilled, just thrilled for the Jayhawks!

So on to school psych stuff. I had my first staffing last week for a kid with MR. It was tough, much tougher than I thought it would be. Got some encouraging words from the school psych coordinator, so felt I better about things, but man, I would have done things differently I think. It's never easy to deliver this sort of news. Did a staffing also for a kiddo that didn't qualify for LD, although she definitely has learning problems-that LD definition is just problematic all the way around. I need to look up some more info about the Response to Intervention (RTI) model and how LD is determined there. Here in Wichita we need a 24 point discrepancy between achievement and IQ, but we also have a "Nonstandard LD Determination" we can use, however, this kid didn't quite fit that either. She's 2nd grade, so I think after she's failed this year and next, then she'll have that 24 point discrepancy. Such a shame. We have to fail first before we can get the help we need to be successful - does this make sense to anybody?

Coming up in the next 10 days I have 2 more LD staffings and 2 re-evaluations I haven't even started on. Several kindergarten kids with DD labels are turning 6 in the next 4 weeks or so, so I gotta figure out what to do with them. Organization and prioritizing are about 90% of this job. There are times that I just simply take the time to update my calendar (if you're a school psych, consider getting yourself a Franklin-Covey Educator's Planning Book-it's WONDERFUL) and make sure I have everything on there. I can't remember jack cheese these days.

OK! The wheatstalks are crumbling.

Now that I've bragged about the WSU Shockers on this blog, and razzed my nephew about WSU basketball compared to the OTHER Kansas team at KU, I probably should maybe CONCEDE a little bit that the Shocks are playing like grandmas with one hand tied behind their backs, and that, yes, KU beat Oklahoma (whatever), and that yes, the Shocks after having a great first part of a season are now falling apart like Phill Kline's re-election campaign, so OK! What else do ya want me to say? C'mon, Michael, WSU isn't USED to consistency. Gimme a break. And my Shocks could debeak your Jayhawk any day of the week but you guys are too "chicken" (ha) to play us. I think Mark Turgeon needs to inspire the guys to not miss any more 3 pointers. Whaddya think, Michael?

It's getting hot in here

I am really into the fire this week, but I have had two staffings cancelled, which probably is a GOOD thing. One little girl needs glasses so badly, and has needed them for months, but mom doesn't want to take care of this need, thus, her evaluation is delayed. I can't test a kid when she can't see. I asked to postpone the other one because for the first time since I've been working with kids, I could not connect with this kid and establish rapport-he refused to be tested. Since that first session, I've worked with him two more times and things have gone a little better, but oh my, he's an angry little boy- and here's me, another adult trying to get information from him. He has a right to be upset with all the stuff going on in his young 8 year old life.

Wednesday and Thursday are gonna be tough days. I am really struggling with an eligibility decision regarding a student we are considering for the mental retardation exceptionality. There are quite a few things to think about with this particular student, so the child study team has spent literally hours talking, analyzing, thinking - this situation has consumed me the past couple of weeks. The staffing is Thursday. We still don't know what we're going to recommend. Wednesday we're meeting with a district specialist, and Thursday we're meeting with parents. I hope we figure something out.

Speaking of kids with problems, in the paper last week there was an article about the dad who dropped his 10 year old and 3 year old children off at their mom's place because he didn't want them anymore, and surprise, the mom didn't want them either, so they ended up calling the police and taking them to the children's home. How nice. To be 10, and to come to the jolting reality that your parents don't want you. Talk about your kid that's left behind. How is this 10 year old gonna go to school, sit in class, and learn about the Magna Carta? But the school she/he attends will be accountable for this child's learning-and will be held responsible if this kid doesn't make the grade on those high-stakes tests.

I just heard that one of the suburban districts surrounding us is discussing having school year-round. Hmmm. Advantages, yes. Disadvantages...?

Into the Fire

Yesterday was my first day back to work! Yea! In an inservice yesterday, we discussed a new method our school district will be using to evaluate preschoolers. Today the kids are back, and it's a full schedule. I have, count them, 4 meetings today. I'm also in the middle of evaluating a 2nd grader for learning disabilities, so hopefully I can finish that today and tomorrow. Poor little guy, he's pretty good in math, but is so disfluent in reading. He's so extremely frustrated that now he has become a behavior problem. Mom is living many, many states away and is battling her own demons, trying to get her life together so that she can once again take care of her kids. That's gotta be tough for this young man.

I've completed my first evaluation of a student who I will recommend placement in special education under the "Mental Retardation" category. These are the tough ones. It's hard to tell parents this news, and in this case, English is not these parents' first language, so it will be more difficult. We have hired a translator for the meeting, just to make sure there is no misunderstanding. Their kid is a cutie, repeating kindergarten for the 2nd time, and still not understanding a lot of things those kindergarteners need to know. He's behind, very behind, in all academic areas, and socially and emotionally. But he liked coming with me for testing!

It's going to be a nice day here, in the 50's and sunny. Would be a good day to walk outside-maybe around the playground. Yeah, around the playground. Maybe I'll try that.

2007

2007-here we come. Whether we're ready or not. Everything's over, said and done, 2006 is a wrap. 5 more months until school's out!

I'm sorta looking forward to going back to work, in a way. Tomorrow I'm gonna practice giving a Stanford-Binet V, an IQ test that's been out awhile, but I'm not proficient at giving it. There's lots of manipulatives and other stuff to use, plus I think it's a little confusing. Takes practice to learn a new test, you know.

(I'm sort of watching David Letterman out of the corner of one eye-he's going to have a 10 year old kid on his show tonight who is a "lizard whisperer". Great. )

Well kids, thanks to those of you are who are checking the blog once in awhile. I don't have a very exciting life, but my friend Barbara does right now. Congratulations on your recent marriage to the man of your dreams-best wishes for a long and happy life with Lyle!