Selections from:
A Complete Guide to the Advanced Study in and the Profession of School Psychology
by Erin Marie Morgan Ohio Wesleyan University
(this text was scanned and may contain some typographical errors.)

Best and worst about being a school psychologists - comments from school psychologists

"The things I like best are meeting interesting, funny and talented kids and their families, working with teams of thoughtful and competent people to problem solve and come up with interventions that are best for kids, watching a student make positive progress after a team that you were a part of developed a plan or program for that student, learning about the most recent research on child development and childhood disorders, hoping that in some way, in most cases, that you are making a positive difference in a child's life and working a schedule that is agreeable to me and my family. The things that are the worst are the paperwork, the occasional lack of understanding about our training and that we can do other things besides testing, such as consultation, intervention, etc. and occasionally you meet a child with such significant needs that you hope you can make a difference, but you wonder if you really can. It is also frustrating when outside agencies and professionals encourage parents to initiate an adversarial relationship with the school rather than one of teamwork and common ground".

" The best part is simply working with kids and hopefully being able to provide intervention or services that help them. The worst parts are the paperwork and the difficulty of convincing certain teachers (usually those who have been teaching for 20+ years) that you know what you are talking about"

" The best thing is working with a team of professionals on complex cases with students. There are so many excellent specialists in schools (i.e.: speech pathologists, teachers, occupational therapists, etc.) who bring unique perspectives to understanding students. As a psychologist, I am often the sole-voice from the psychological perspective so I need to make sure I am familiar with every aspect of mental health that could effect a student. I bring what I know to our team meetings and I always seem to learn something new about what another professional has to say. I am most satisfied when I know that a student's life is directly affected in a positive way based on a team of people coming together. The worst thing is having to spend a lot of time doing things that do not tap into what we were trained as psychologists to do. The law dictates that we follow many regulations, that bog down a psychologist's time with repetitive testing, reports and endless paperwork"

"The best thing is working with children, teachers, parents and other school personnel. The worst part is all of the paperwork!!"

"The best part is that I am in a position to help make lifelong, significant changes in children's lives, which will hopefully have a positive impact. I love coordinating information between the student, parents and school personnel. I also love working with the children and hearing what insights they have. The worst part is all of the paperwork. With having state report formats, there is little opportunity for individuality in report-writing, which I do not like!"

"The best thing is working with children who continue to teach me something new everyday. I am reminded, daily, that thinking is a developmental process that is as individual as a fingerprint. I believe school psychologists serve children best when we advocate for their needs and celebrate their potential. The worst thing is bearing in mind all the regulations that one must consider when writing a report about a comprehensive evaluation. I reserve time in my schedule to read to kindergarten classes on days when I know I will be writing reports. It is too mind numbing if I spend the entire day doing dictation or writing"

"The best things are the problem solving and brainstorming that occur when a team is attempting to reach a resolution. The worst thing is the many regulations that we have. It is hard to keep up with them and comply with them all of the time because they are constantly changing"

"The best things are that I have freedom to work the way I want, schedule children within a reasonable framework and I work with a very nice special education chairperson that does all of the paperwork. The worst thing is all of the regulations that are put on school psychologists"

"The best things are counseling relations with students, consultation with parents and teachers while developing intervention plans for troubled or underachieving students and evaluations of the most difficult cases. The worst parts are general staff meetings, department meetings and too many cases per psychologist making it impossible to be as through as I would like and each child deserves"

"The best thing is that I am given the opportunity to help children who need psychological and/or academic help which will have a profound impact on their future. Families and school staff also benefit. We also provide knowledge and skills which no one else has in bringing about the positive changes for each student. The worst thing is having 300-400 bosses all at one time since each teacher, parent and school staff person thinks that you only work for them and that you are working on their referral everyday. The resulting time stressors from this are unpleasant and unhealthy for us"

"The best thing about my job is the opportunity to work individually with students and, hopefully, have a positive impact on their schooling. I really enjoy the diversity of my position in that I am able to work with students, consult with parents, teachers and administrators and collaborate with other professionals in the mental health field. The worst thing about my job is the paperwork that is mandated by state and federal regulations. It is very time consuming and often frustrating. Also, we are faced with laws enacted by politicians who do not seem to understand the educational process or developmental factors involved in student learning"

"The best thing about my job is working with students, teachers, administrators and parents. The worst things are too much paperwork and all of the federal, state and district imposed rules and regulations associated with special needs students"

"My favorite part of my job is watching the children make major emotional gains. My second favorite thing is being around young children around Christmas time and watching their enthusiasm and having it rub off on me. My least favorite thing is uncooperative parents. It is extremely difficult to try to help a child when you are dealing with uncaring parents, or worse, parents who undermine what your trying to do"

"The best thing about my job is that the work is highly varied, interesting and never boring. The worst thing is that there is always too much to be done by one person"

"The best part of my job is being a part of a positive change. The worst thing is that very few administrators really know how to properly use school psychologists, so there is this constant process of education people who are "over" you in the school hierarchy. Once you have a good working relationship with a principal or supervisor, they move or retire and you have to start all over again with the replacement"

"First of all, I want to say that I do not consider myself to 'be' a school psychologist. I do school psychology for a living--it is my trade or profession. The best part of my profession is that it is very flexible. The first worst part is when people believe that one's occupation automatically dictates their philosophy of education, life or anything else. Also, very often the psychologist is expected to have answers for all questions regarding children. There is also not enough time to do other things besides assessments"

"The best part of the job is the extreme variability and need for expertise in many areas (i.e.: negotiation, administration, strong interpersonal skills, etc.). The worst part is all of the laws and regulations that school psychologists have to follow. I also don't like the fact that I can't work with individual children for as long as I would like" Jan Swartzentruber, Buckeye Valley Schools in Delaware, Ohio
" The best part of my job is working with students and their parents. I also enjoy working with teachers. My main goal is to try to make school a positive experience for children. The worst part of my job is writing reports and doing paperwork. I am not a good writer and it is hard fro me to express myself accurately in reports. Also, I don't pay enough attention to keeping records and to details--I never want to take the time to do this"

"The best part of my job is to start with the 'puzzle' that represents each child and his or her problem and through my analysis and intervention find something that works to make that child's life a little better in some way--whether it be a remedial strategy, family intervention, consultation with teachers, counseling or anything else. The worst part is when teachers or systems make a mess of things in some way and I am caught in the middle. I feel that I should be an advocate for children, not for the system. Sometimes it's hard to maintain your job and work within the system and still make sure that what you do is best for the child. I have actually changed jobs at times because of this type of situation"

"The best part of my job is watching children become successful and families grow more understanding. The worst part is working with 'parent advocates' whom have a personal vendetta or axe to grind at the expenses of good judgment for the child"

"Without a doubt, the most rewarding aspect of school psychology is watching kids start to succeed in areas in which they were previously struggling. To see a student who had been 'sent away' from his school because of significantly inappropriate behavior, return to his home school after an intensive program of intervention and succeed...To have a child read to you when only months before that child was certain she would never read...To see the face of a severely delayed child light up when he is able to manipulate a switch that turns on a radio.. These are all priceless experiences. Also, developing programs that have a positive impact on the lives of countless children, such as a district wide behavioral intervention program or a communication disorders program is also highly rewarding. There is no doubt that the paperwork and attention to the requirements of special education law is the biggest drawback to this profession. The laws are complex, comprehensive and changing. They are subject to interpretation by courts, state agencies, advocates and parents which often leads to disagreements. Working with parents who play a negative role in the life of their child is another drawback. I encounter parents who do not have adequate parenting skills, who do not care for their child even to the degree that their resources allow, who do not take an active role in the education of their child and who may even be openly against the schools"

"One benefit of being a school psychologist is that the demand for psychologists in the schools is ever increasing as the specials education population increases. Also, most persons in the school psychology field are paid more highly than comparable degree positions in other fields of psychology. The job is also never boring. One disadvantage in my particular case is that I work for four school districts and my longest commute is fifty minutes from my home. Job stress is also high"

"The best part of my job is helping children learn better in school. Each child is different and some need extra help in order to be successful. It is satisfying to work with teachers and parents and finally determine the best way to help the child. The most difficult thing about my job is all of the paperwork necessary for federal and state regulations. It is not OK with me to be spending more time on the computers and shuffling paper than with children in the schools!"

"The best part of my job is working with children and really feeling like I'm making a difference in their lives. The worst part of my job is all of the paperwork that keeps me from spending more time with the children. Also, it is very difficult when you feel like you are being pulled in all different directions and are trying to balance the needs of the teacher, parent, administrator and student"

"The best parts are the variety of activities involved in the job, interactions with a range of people from all walks of life, and the many opportunities to help others, many who are greatly in need. The worst parts are all of the paperwork and too many hours of overtime needed to keep up with the workload"

"The best part of my job is the creativity required when discussing interventions with a parent or teacher for a particular child because every child and every situation is different. The worst part of my job is all of the typing and paperwork. Also, all the lugging of materials back and forth to schools and offices"

"The best part of my job is working with children. They never fail to amaze me with their wit, charm, creativity and intelligence. The worst part of my job is dealing with the massive amounts of paperwork special education requires. On some occasions, I am required to repeat the same thing on two or three different forms. It frustrates me when this keeps me from important things, like actually working with children!"

"The most rewarding aspect of my job is those occasions when I help a student understand his or her own learning style, strengths, weaknesses, learning needs and program needs. When the student has an Ah-ha experience, realizes how much of the problem has been caused by others, recognizes what he or she needs to do differently, begins to plan some self-help and some self-advocacy and maybe gains a little confidence and self-esteem, my day is made. Similar responses from parents are almost as rewarding. I also really enjoy training school psychologists and supervising interns. The parts I hate include beating my head against bureaucratic walls, fighting with attorneys, failing to change the behavior of teachers who could but won't help students and being so overloaded that I can't respond to legitimate needs and requests"

"I most enjoy the autonomy of being able to set my own schedule and arrange with individual districts and/or teachers time to come out and work with the students. Probably the thing that I enjoy the least is carving out the time to do the paperwork, reports, recommendation, IEP write-ups, etc."

"The best parts of my job are helping students and teachers. The worst parts of my job are not agreeing with the way your boss wants things done, especially when they don't mesh with the way you have been taught to do things (correctly), placing students in special education programs so they can receive the extra help they need when they really should be helped in a regular classroom and lots of paperwork!"

"The best parts of my job are working with children, parents and teachers, being part of a multidisciplinary team to assess children and adults, providing in-service training to teachers, and teaching classes at a university. The worst parts are when we over-test children, dealing with the lack of trust between parents and schools and seeing the effects drugs and alcohol have on children"

"The best part of being a school psychologist is the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of children. The worst part is that you may never know if you have made a difference in the lives of children. We invest today in a tomorrow we may never see. It is rare to have a former student come back to thank you and we frequently never know how the student turns out"

"I enjoy almost everything about being a school psychologist. Consulting with staff, advising parents, assessments--all positive. Negatives are regarding IEP's new laws and regulations, causing way too much time in meetings, taking away from more effective use of my time. I particularly enjoy crisis intervention because I find that psychologists can make a difference at that time and are invaluable resources to parents and children"

"The best things about being a school psychologist are the freedom of movement, variability in service delivery and the peer support. The worst things are terrible pay, poor office space with no phone, no ventilation in one school, arrogant administration who treat you poorly and over abundance of paperwork"

"The best thing about being a school psychologist is being there at that moment when a change is made. Whether it is the time a student understands a concept for the first time or a teacher comes up with a new way to work with a challenging student after our consultation session, I live for the moment to be there. The worst thing is not being able to provide families with comprehensive services. This week alone, I have met with three families whose relationships are the major contributors to their child's learning challenges. My consulting with the family is one step, but they often need more comprehensive services. My challenge is to find resources to help. There is much that can be done, but it is a tremendous challenge when parents first look to outside sources for their challenges as a family rather than begin being honest with themselves and their children that their is a problem with the relationships at home"

"The best thing is working with students. The worst is working for a district (fortunately, not this one) that does not care enough about its students to have enough school psychologists to do a good job. Many only hire enough to do testing and do not allow time for counseling and consultation"

" The best things are providing comprehensive services to all children, combining the fields of education and psychology, developing and providing a diverse role to include counseling and consultation, helping children learn at their potential, problem solving, opportunities for leadership roles and being an advocate for children. The worst things are being seen by others as psychometrician, often not being included as part of a school group because we're not teachers, seen by others as only identifying and providing services to children in special education, paperwork, the fact that the numbers of students is too great to serve at designated school sites, we have so many things to accomplish and such little time to get those things done that we often don't get to specialize and the lawyers, who often waste time and resources"

"The best thing about my job is getting to know children and adolescents and offering whatever support, encouragement and strategies I can. I also really enjoy working with teachers, paraprofessionals, therapists, counselors and parents. Consultation and team problem-solving is very rewarding. The worst is finding time to document, write reports and follow-up on cases. I also would like to be doing more group and individual counseling than I am currently able to do. I really believe that the role of the school psychologist is not always understood or utilized to potential. Finding the balance between assessment eligibility mandates and system change/proactive support for the educational environment can be stressful"

" The best part of my job is that wonderful sense of happiness and accomplishment that occurs when you get a student you've spent countless hours working with the teachers, parents, administrators and the student finally starts to be successful.. there is probably nothing in the world that could compare with that feeling. The worst part is all of the paperwork!"

"There are many things that I enjoy about my job. One is that I enjoy the relationship that I have with GOOD teachers...1 have respect for the adults who truly love the children they teach. Secondly, I really enjoy working with children who have special needs. I am fortunate to work in a district that requires me to do more than assessment. I get the chance to form relationships with the children. I assess and then assist with programming. I also enjoy the puzzle...you know, just searching and searching to find what makes a child act or think the way they do. The thing that is difficult is that I sometimes feel overwhelmed at the problems I face and the quantity of work I have. I also get frustrated with parents who expect the world on a platter and it is just not always possible to provide what they want. So many times we have to go into meetings having to defend decisions we make. I get frustrated that parents and teachers for that matter forget that we are all there for the benefit of the child"

"The thing that I enjoy most is communicating difficult information to parents. Often times, I am the first person to explain what is going on to the parents. I find it exhilarating when I make contact with them about their child. The two things that I don't like are the paperwork and attending meetings, regarding legal issues. Nothing is worse than discussing legal information with someone who has simply read a few articles"

"The best part of my job is the diverse skills that I am required to have, of education, medical, psychological, legal issues: I need to be adaptable and easily shift from one fire to another; I need to have compassion and empathy for a variety of people and life situations; I need to be able to think quickly on my feet; I need to be a skilled psychometrist and shift from talking/testing special education lingo to making it understandable to teachers and parents; I need to have good communication skills, written and spoken; I need to have good balance in my own life and finally to work in public education I HAVE to have a good sense of humor. The worst is having to juggle all the things I listed above. Challenges to find ways over include rigid temperaments in some teachers, parents, administrators; reams of what sometimes seem like endless and meaningless trails of paperwork; federal and state guidance rule changes; having the pleasure of sitting at dinner with non-educators and hearing how screwed up public school is; the devastating effects of drugs on young people's lives and apathy"

"The best part of my job is working with teachers, parents and students, excluding an excess of testing. The worst things are long meetings, too much paperwork and too much time performing assessments"

"I never practiced as a school psychologist in the schools. The academic position I hold now is my first job, other than my internship and postdoc. For me, the best part about being a trainer in the field is being able to prepare future school psychologists to provide mental health services in the schools (which is the direction in which the field is headed). It is exciting for me to have the freedom and knowledge to offer this opportunity to students, since this is not one of the traditional domains of school psychology. The worst part of being a trainer is not having enough hours in the day to do all the things that I would like to do (e.g., grant-writing, regular writing, etc.)"

41st Annual Conference

Preventing Academic and Behavioral Problems in Children: Rethinking Interventions for Schools

Friday,
May 4th, 2008

info & registration

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