There is nothing like the first week of school- the anticipation and anxiety held by both children and school staff is one of my favorite experiences. The last time I experienced a first week of school was the 2006-2007 school year, my last year of teaching. This time I was entering three new campuses where I was the new kid, joining dozens of other new kids in learning the culture of a new school and finding my place.
It was a good, but slow week. While I don't have any children assigned to me yet, I found as many ways to be useful as I could, from assisting at registration to translating for parents to going through files. I am getting to know the people I will work closely with, and am meeting others who will become close allies. I have some meetings and activities planned for next week and see how my workload will slowly pick up. Mostly, I just want to be useful and important to my campuses. Also, I made my first visit to the mental health clinic I am assigned to, and so far enjoy the site and the people who work there. As school gets underway I will begin picking up new clients there as well.
It is hard sometimes being the new person, slowing building rapport and waiting to have children and teachers to work with. It is a good time to take advantage of so that I can get to know people and learn about the environments, even if it is not in my personality to sit around and wait. Soon, though, things will change, and I will no longer be the new kid but the busy psychology intern wondering what happened to the calmness of August.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Week 3- Patience
I was told a couple days ago by a friend and former intern in my district that I would learn a lot of patience this year, and this week was definitely a lesson. It was the week after intern orientation but before school starts, the week all staff return to work for meetings and preparation. It started out pretty exciting, as most of the department had still been on vacation, so we got to meet everyone and get a real feel for the office environment. Our office, full of school psychologists and social workers, is lively and friendly, and I felt comfortable immediately. As the week went on, our days were mixed with meetings/trainings and down time to get work done. For the veterans, there was a lot of organization, paperwork, and contacting to do. For the interns... well, we made the best use of our time that we could. I wanted to be busy, be either in workshops or at schools, but I realized it was all temporary. Thursday and Friday I finally got to visit my schools, as well as those of my supervisors. I met people who will be instant allies and people who will become allies given time (it amazes me that there are people who question the need to give psychological help to their students, but I will work on them :) ). It was exciting to be in the energy of back-to-school preparation, although I am nervous for some schools that are still finishing construction and other projects. There was nothing like watching teachers and staff go into their new building for the first time- smiles and gasps over their new spaces, and the pride of the principal for what he could give his teachers and children.
So now, after resting this weekend, I will be part of a first day of school for the first time in five years. Even though these first days and weeks will be slow, and I will have to have more patience, I am just happy to be in the schools and working with teachers and children. Let the fun begin! :)
So now, after resting this weekend, I will be part of a first day of school for the first time in five years. Even though these first days and weeks will be slow, and I will have to have more patience, I am just happy to be in the schools and working with teachers and children. Let the fun begin! :)
Friday, August 12, 2011
Weeks 1 and 2- Definition, Identity, and Union
My goal for the next year (or 11 months, at least) is to write weekly about my experiences on internship. Writing is partially for me and partially for those who are following this journey, and I think a weekly goal is a good one. It will be challenging, though. I have to be extremely cautious about how I talk about my schools and students, and will likely talk in generalities to keep things as private as possible. I also will have to, as always, think carefully about what I write if there is conflict or any other negativity. As I move into this process I will evaluate how best to journal this experience. If anyone else knows of other blogs addressing internship, please pass them along so I can get some ideas.
So clearly I messed up already, being that I am writing two weeks in. This is for two reasons- first, because the two weeks really went together, and I knew I'd be able to write a more solid reflection once it was over. Second, it was my birthday weekend and I was having fun :) Plus, I was exhausted!
The first two weeks here are the official orientation time for interns- most of the staff is still enjoying their summer, so we get time on our own to learn about our new roles. Part of the time was spent in meetings and trainings, learning everything from the basics of internship (supervision, evaluations, and our favorite topic, timesheets) to our roles in counseling, RTI, crisis intervention, reporting child abuse, and more. The other part of the orientation was a series of site visits to help us learn about the services offered to our students, both to have ideas of who to refer them to if they needed more interventions and to know about them if our students were already working with them. I made my first visits to a juvenile detention center and a homeless shelter; I also talked to counseling clinics, a psychiatric hospital, and facilities for runaways, foster children, and drug abusers. It was eye opening to see how serious the problems for many children in this area are, but it was also comforting to know that there were many people giving their time to help these children and turn their lives around.
The past two weeks have led me to three processes. First, I have begun to define myself within this new context. The nature of this internship is more specialized than I am used to, and at the beginning I spent a bit of time retraining my brain. There are many tasks that fall under the general definition of school psychologist, but some of those are not part of my job description here. This is neither a positive or a negative- in some ways I am excited about the time I will get to spend learning new skills that I haven't worked on before, but a part of me will miss other tasks (but also realizes that I could go back to them later). It's been a process, but by the second week I felt secure in my role. I think the site visits made a big impact- by seeing the high need of youth in this city, I see why my specialized role is valuable to the schools and how no one could do everything and meet the needs of the children.
The second process is identity. Now that I understand my global definition as an intern in this district, I am creating my identity. I have my school assignments and have studied them, as well as the neighborhoods. They are in a way what I asked for, but they are also a challenge. I have also, with the orientation and site visits over, chosen a secondary rotation, the place I want to devote my time that will focus on my interests and career goals. So now, when the school year begins in just over a week, I will be able to carve my niche within this internship. It is an exciting feeling.
Finally, with all of the traveling and meetings, I have spent a significant amount of time with my fellow interns and our supervisors. Everyone is very friendly, and I felt by the end of orientation that we had joined together into a team. I never felt like I was some inferior student, but have been treated like a new staff member, and I have appreciated that so much.
So the first two weeks have been great, but I have been prepared for a job that will be very challenging. There is still time to learn during this month, as we have next week when the staff returns to attend meetings and visit our schools, and the first week or two we will do some shadowing with our supervisor and make sure we are ready to be on our own. I am taking it all in and hoping I will be the best school psychologist for the children I will serve this year.
So clearly I messed up already, being that I am writing two weeks in. This is for two reasons- first, because the two weeks really went together, and I knew I'd be able to write a more solid reflection once it was over. Second, it was my birthday weekend and I was having fun :) Plus, I was exhausted!
The first two weeks here are the official orientation time for interns- most of the staff is still enjoying their summer, so we get time on our own to learn about our new roles. Part of the time was spent in meetings and trainings, learning everything from the basics of internship (supervision, evaluations, and our favorite topic, timesheets) to our roles in counseling, RTI, crisis intervention, reporting child abuse, and more. The other part of the orientation was a series of site visits to help us learn about the services offered to our students, both to have ideas of who to refer them to if they needed more interventions and to know about them if our students were already working with them. I made my first visits to a juvenile detention center and a homeless shelter; I also talked to counseling clinics, a psychiatric hospital, and facilities for runaways, foster children, and drug abusers. It was eye opening to see how serious the problems for many children in this area are, but it was also comforting to know that there were many people giving their time to help these children and turn their lives around.
The past two weeks have led me to three processes. First, I have begun to define myself within this new context. The nature of this internship is more specialized than I am used to, and at the beginning I spent a bit of time retraining my brain. There are many tasks that fall under the general definition of school psychologist, but some of those are not part of my job description here. This is neither a positive or a negative- in some ways I am excited about the time I will get to spend learning new skills that I haven't worked on before, but a part of me will miss other tasks (but also realizes that I could go back to them later). It's been a process, but by the second week I felt secure in my role. I think the site visits made a big impact- by seeing the high need of youth in this city, I see why my specialized role is valuable to the schools and how no one could do everything and meet the needs of the children.
The second process is identity. Now that I understand my global definition as an intern in this district, I am creating my identity. I have my school assignments and have studied them, as well as the neighborhoods. They are in a way what I asked for, but they are also a challenge. I have also, with the orientation and site visits over, chosen a secondary rotation, the place I want to devote my time that will focus on my interests and career goals. So now, when the school year begins in just over a week, I will be able to carve my niche within this internship. It is an exciting feeling.
Finally, with all of the traveling and meetings, I have spent a significant amount of time with my fellow interns and our supervisors. Everyone is very friendly, and I felt by the end of orientation that we had joined together into a team. I never felt like I was some inferior student, but have been treated like a new staff member, and I have appreciated that so much.
So the first two weeks have been great, but I have been prepared for a job that will be very challenging. There is still time to learn during this month, as we have next week when the staff returns to attend meetings and visit our schools, and the first week or two we will do some shadowing with our supervisor and make sure we are ready to be on our own. I am taking it all in and hoping I will be the best school psychologist for the children I will serve this year.
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