Great! I haven't posted in about, oh, eons, and I just now discovered that my blog has been mentioned on the Douglas and Main website-sort of a coffee house for local blog writers. Great! I hate to think about people visiting my site, only to discover that there's been nothing posted in about forever, so maybe that will be a motivator for me. I notice that my brother, the faithful blogger, has done his 500th post. Great! By the way, I'm going to try to figure out how to link the Douglas and Main website to this blog so you can go there if you like. I'm listed under "Educators". EEK! There's lots of interesting stuff on that link and I could waste all kinds of time looking at all the blogs-I think everybody else's writings are infinitely more interesting than mine. I don't even own a digital camera to be able to post pictures on here, so what I write about is just...I dunno, so ordinary, or something.
This time of year is very busy for me, as it is for school psychologists all over the district. I have the added pressure of trying to have everything completed a week early so that I can be out of here and attending my youngest son's wedding in Wisconsin the end of May. I am working a lot of hours, and in addition, work on things at home in the evenings and on weekends when needed. In spite of that, for the most part, I love my job. I like trying to figure out mysteries and this job certainly has its share. There are times I'd like to be able to unzip a head, peer in at a brain, and discover, oh! THAT'S why this kid is so smart, but he can't read fluently...THAT'S why she sees letters and numbers reversed...THAT'S why this child doesn't 'get' multiplication...THAT'S why this student transposes sounds in words...etc. The testing I do is but a snapshot of performance on that particular day. It is at best, an estimate of ability and achievement, and that's why I try my best to view a student holistically and consider other factors such as environment, motivation, and health. Even then, I sometimes feel that I have more questions than answers.
On another topic, we got 6 inches + of rain yesterday and last night. Typical street flooding in my neighborhood made me wonder, as I came home around 9:30 whether or not I was gonna need a canoe.
It's late, and I'm done for the day. Thanks for visiting me, even though I don't do well at posting. Everybody who nags me about having a Facebook needs to realize that I'd be worse at that than I am at blogging.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Change is inevitable-except from a vending machine
I'm thinking about changing the title of this blog. Life is so much more than work, and my job title simply is that, a title. Although it's what I spend most of my time doing during the day (and when I bring work home in the evenings and on weekends), it is not me. I know there are other school psychologists who follow this blog, hoping for earnest discussion about those issues, and I don't mind talking about that, but frankly, it is not how I define myself. Since I changed the About Me several months ago to indicate that, I still feel constrained by the title Cool School Psychologist. I am that, but more. I feel I haven't been able to reveal a lot of my personal struggles on this blog or my opinions about certain things because there are readers who check this blog wanting discussion on professional issues, not personal ones. So stay tuned if you're interested. I may make a few drastic changes here and there.
Speaking of change, that's what I feel like my life is about these days. And my reaction to change isn't always healthy, even if the change could be a good thing. For example, at work, this time of year, it is always probable that things come up which I'm not expecting as I plan the last 8 weeks of school. There might be several kids who move into one of my schools who are due for re-evaluation before the end of the year. I might have a parent request an evaluation and then insist that the testing occur before the 5th grade kid moves on to middle school. There might be a teacher who knows valuable, critical information about a student I am working with, but does not tell me until I stumble upon it by accident. All of these things and more have happened to me on the job since spring break.
In my personal life, things are changing. There's are two or three major changes happening at the church I attend, and they affect me and the way I do ministry there. I feel I have lost my way at a church I have attended for many years now. Our family, both nuclear and extended is changing-usually these are good changes, but still, they are stressful. I used to think weather was a minor thing, but actually, I am beginning to believe that it affects us all more than we might think. Last weekend we had blizzard-like conditions in south central Kansas, with sleet, snow, and gusty winds starting on Friday afternoon, and continuing through Saturday afternoon - temps in the 20's and 30's. Yesterday, 7 days later, the high temperature was in the 60's, still with gusty winds, though. Today, it's cloudy, windy, looks like rain, and it is COLD.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else." I think that sums up my life right now. I'm working in a futile quest to hang on to what I lose when things change. How's THAT for a blinding flash of introspection on a Sunday morning?
Speaking of change, that's what I feel like my life is about these days. And my reaction to change isn't always healthy, even if the change could be a good thing. For example, at work, this time of year, it is always probable that things come up which I'm not expecting as I plan the last 8 weeks of school. There might be several kids who move into one of my schools who are due for re-evaluation before the end of the year. I might have a parent request an evaluation and then insist that the testing occur before the 5th grade kid moves on to middle school. There might be a teacher who knows valuable, critical information about a student I am working with, but does not tell me until I stumble upon it by accident. All of these things and more have happened to me on the job since spring break.
In my personal life, things are changing. There's are two or three major changes happening at the church I attend, and they affect me and the way I do ministry there. I feel I have lost my way at a church I have attended for many years now. Our family, both nuclear and extended is changing-usually these are good changes, but still, they are stressful. I used to think weather was a minor thing, but actually, I am beginning to believe that it affects us all more than we might think. Last weekend we had blizzard-like conditions in south central Kansas, with sleet, snow, and gusty winds starting on Friday afternoon, and continuing through Saturday afternoon - temps in the 20's and 30's. Yesterday, 7 days later, the high temperature was in the 60's, still with gusty winds, though. Today, it's cloudy, windy, looks like rain, and it is COLD.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else." I think that sums up my life right now. I'm working in a futile quest to hang on to what I lose when things change. How's THAT for a blinding flash of introspection on a Sunday morning?
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