Yep, I didn't study adults and their problems. I didn't study personalities and their various presentations. I didn't study relationships and the intricacies of them. Therefore, these things are not obvious to me. I studied how disabling conditions effect children and their learning and how to identify disabilities. I studied statistics, IQ tests, achievement assessments, behavior rating scales, adaptive behavior measurements, childhood development and theory, the brain and how it functions, and learning theories. See, that's the school part ppl tend to not recognize/acknowledge. I am frustrated. I am frustrated that in interactions that I have fairly often ppl think just because I have the word psychologist in my job title that I should be some well adjusted paradigm of psychological embodiment. Ppl, please stop assuming that I am going to analyze you and uncover some deep dark secret upon meeting you. BTW, Dr. heal thy self doesn't apply here either.
I was looking at what other careers/jobs that my skills could apply to and this is what I happened across from US News and World Report online in the article Best Careers 2009- School Psychologist:
"A Day in the Life . A teacher wants Johnny placed in a special-education class, so you make a classroom observation (if it were only that easy - thanks red tape!). You see something different, however (Ok, this part is true b/c I typically do) If the teacher provided some individualized instruction for Johnny, he probably wouldn't need special ed (This is how I see my job to keep them from going into or exit them from special ed, if possible). The teacher isn't pleased with that assessment, but you have the final say (Final say, hardly, like I have power, funny.). Next, you test another child's eligibility for special education. This time, you administer an intelligence test, an achievement battery, learning disability diagnostic tests, and personality instruments (personality assessments don't really play a role in learning disabilities and this can't all get done in a day and the rest of this take place too), and write the results and recommendations in a three-page, single-spaced report (They must have observed a REALLY green practicing sch. psy. b/c good reports that actually tell you something useful are on ave. 7-10, my longest was 22 - with graphs). The most stressful part of your day is a meeting to agree on the annual individualized education plan for a severely disabled child—most of the time, he rocks back and forth (ROTFLMAO!!!). The parent and teacher demand more services for the child, while the principal argues they're not cost effective (Not so far off but minus the $$ part). You facilitate the decision-making (I try but sometimes ppl like the sound of their own voice). Next, you and a teacher show a parent how to help her dyslexic child improve his reading while coping with his "depression" about it (I would love more of this in my daily routine). The final activity of the day is illuminating: your weekly Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll discussion group with seventh graders."(Ok, you don't need a psychology degree to know this isn't Illuminating in the way I feel they mean it)
If this were my typical day then I don't know that I would ever complain. My favorite part is their claim that the most stressful part of my day is a meeting on an IEP. In my world most times that is the easiest. I wish that I could walk into a classroom and observe a child but where I work we have to get parental permission. I understand why but it doesn't always make logical sense. Oh the looming fear of the lawsuit which is the driving force behind most of education, heck in my opinion, most of America. Don't get me wrong, I chose this career, I am passionate about what I do, and I like to think that I am very good at what I do given the parameters in which I have to work, again which I chose. There are typically two times during the year when I reconsider my choices and I find myself in one of those times, however, this time it isn't a vent, it's a serious consideration of when did my job become ruled by a by-product of a tree instead of concern for a child? I knew that paperwork was part of the job when I sought it out and I don't mind filling out forms, I kinda like it actually, but I feel it's to a point now that is beyond ridiculous. The amount of time it takes is literally day-filling and mind numbing form completion for the sake of completing a form. No piecing parts of a puzzle together, no collection of data to address a reason for referral, just filling out a form. My other, underlying, problem is that to completely fulfill my responsibilities I have to perform at a lower level than my best and, for me, that is a great challenge because best practice is my standard and anything less is unacceptable. Oh yes, I am a frustrated SCHOOL psychologist.
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