Friday, November 4, 2011

Update on my Internship

My internship is not exactly what I thought it was going to be, which is neither good or bad. I started out extremely busy, with rarely any down time. I was doing multiple groups and personal counseling sessions each day. For those who don't know, I'm doing a 21 hour-a-week internship at an elementary school (3rd to 5th grade). I also put out lots of fires (conflicts, bullying battles, tears, and teacher frustrations). I lead groups for "new kids" (new to the school), anxiety, positive choices (impulse control), friendship/ social skills, anger management, and divorce/parental separation/ parents fighting. I have a little more downtime now that the "new kids" groups are over. But that only happened just-in-time to start planning classroom lessons. There are 22 classes i have to go in each month and teach a lesson on a hot topic. October was "healthy minds, healthy bodies" and November is "bullying verses bothering".  I'm also on the IST (instructional support team) that create interventions (accommodations individualized education plans, behavior management plans, etc) for at-risk and/or struggling kids.

My supervisor must think i'm superwoman because she just keeps loading me up with stuff to do (with no extra internship time to do it). Oh, and let me just say, the principal is awesome. I love her, she's the best, seriously. She recognizes my hard work and really shows how much she appreciates me. The secretaries are hilarious. The things they do when (they think) no one is watching could win $10,000 on America's funniest home videos. Sometimes they dance, sing, talk to themself, and make fun of kids, teachers, and parents - it's all harmless, I assure you ;) Most of the teachers are great too. I've got my favorites for sure... Ms. Pohlemus, Ms. Armani, Ms. Ferrara, Mrs. Lucarelli and Ms. Wrue (not that those names mean anything to any of you).

School days aren't always golden streets. This week has been especially heavy and stressful. Here are some of the worst stories. One day we had to go on a medical LOCK-DOWN because a girl couldn't catch her breath and the hallways had to be cleared so the paramedics could get in. She was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Yesterday I had a boy sent to my office because he punched a kid in the stomach for cutting him in the breakfast line. He ended up falling asleep in my office because he didn't sleep the night before... he helps his dad SELL DRUGS.  He's only in the 4th grade. I've had another 5th grade boy cry in my arms because his parents are getting a DIVORCE, his dad has custody of him, and they're considered HOMELESS. His relationship with his dad is less than ideal. Today a 4th grader brought a GUN to school and his friend stole it from his backpack and SHOT the bus driver in the leg. I have kids with such high ANXIETY that they have a crying melt-down when their pencil led breaks. Another student asked if I knew what it was like to live in a home where NO ONE LOVES YOU. Parents come in for help because their kids yell PROFANITIES and hit them, refusing to get ready for school. Another set of siblings were KIDNAPPED by their dad, who lost custody because of battery, assault, and domestic violence... he now has custody again (????). There are other kids who i've seen wearing the same clothes nearly every day. A 4th grade girl who wears size 2 jeans WON'T EAT her lunch because people say she's fat. I meet with kids who were ABANDONED by their parents. I've never met so many elementary boys who play horridly VIOLENT video games. Also, i ate lunch with a kid who proceeded to take his sausage, rub it on the bottom of his shoe, and then eat it... that's just gross!

I'll give you some highlights... Standing in the hallways every morning before school and every afternoon after school to greet all the kids "good morning" or "have a good night", receive good morning or good bye hugs, and brighten their days (while they brighten mine). AND hearing the kids sing the school theme song ("Craig Hill's Way to Go) or motto ("healthy minds, healthy bodies") every Friday morning. Also, having kids tell me what all their learning or how they're growing from meeting with me. That totally makes my hard work worth it! I love third graders' gappy-toothed smiles and messy bed-hair.

Even though I love my internship, I totally understand "burn-out". Self-care is rare these days :/ I'm looking forward to a few up-coming breaks from school/internship to get some quality rest and relaxation.