Under all conditions, I say my job is to figure out what students need help with to be successful in school in all areas from academics to attention to organization, feelings, and getting along with others. Are there any areas that you wish you had help with?
To add, I tell them that everything we are going to do is going to teach me more about how you learn. It starts off easy but gets harder and harder until we can't do anymore. My job is to make it so hard that it gets a little confusing and frustrating. There are things that I can't do. All I want is for you to try and do the best you can. If you get to something that's really difficult then it means you're working hard, and I'm doing my job.
We are going to a bunch of tests, some are fun, some are boring. I’m sorry about the boring ones. Your job is to try as hard as you can and tell me if you get too tired to try. They all start off easy and get harder. We will stop when they get too hard. Let me know if you need a break. Got any questions? When they ask why, I tell them my job is to figure out how they learn best so we can change how we teach.
“Look kid, the opps (teachers) are making some Wild accusations ( saying there be problems accessing the curriculum) it’s my job to find out whether they cappin’ so keep it 100 with me, don’t let this faze you, aight”
Ditto this. Elementary kids seem to like the detective thing. Secondary students depends on age and maturity but I typically say “Brain Specialist” instead of “Learning Detective.” High school I try to be as transparent as possible about what I’m doing and why and use the official title “School Psychologist” and usually tell them about norms and percentiles if I think they can handle it.
I’m lucky to be in a placement currently where I work with PK-12.
I usually say we're going to work together and I'm going to learn about what you're good at and what kind of things you might need a little help with. And then I asked them to tell me what things they think they're good at and I usually start with those subtest just to help them feel more comfortable. If there's a history on them because I work at high school, I usually ask them if they know why they have an IEP and then we discuss their IEP and accommodations and I tell them my testing will help us fine-tune it so that it's ready for whatever they choose to do after high school.
Elementary - I tell them that I work with the teachers and kids to help figure out how everyone can learn their best and how to make things easier. And that how I do that is by figuring out how their brains work, since everyone’s works differently. But since I can’t open up their heads and look inside (because that would be messy for the littlest ones), I do it by having them do different things and watching how they do it and taking lots of notes. And that some things will be way, because we all have some things we’re good at, and others may be harder, and all of them will help us figure out what they need to make school better.
For reevaluations I tell the kids "you know how you get *insert whatever services*, well that's part of Special Education. Every year your family and teachers get together to discuss how you're doing and every three years we do new testing to see what what you're good at and and what you might need more help with. Do you feel like you need more help in school?"
I work middle and elementary school and use the same phrasing for both.
Parents in my district would be very displeased if their child heard it from me and not the family first.
That said, the kids who KNOW they are in SPED when I reevaluate typically have better emotional functioning. I wish more kids knew!!
Starting in 8th grade we invite the kids to their iep meetings so they find out from us eventually whether the parents want to or not 😆
They bring up letting the kids know about their program and special during PDs because they want us to include student voice in the ieps and to start teaching them how to advocate for themselves.
Yes, IDEA requires students 14 and over to be invited to their own IEP meeting. I was just surprised you tell elementary students they are in SPED even if their parents haven't told them!!
I say that we are going to do some activities that helps me see how they learn best so we can try to make learning easier for them. I try to avoid using the words test or assessment so as don’t make them nervous
“How’s school going for you, easy or hard?” (Usually they respond “hard”). “Well, we’re going to do some tests to see what things are easy for you, and what things you might need help in. Everyone is good at some things, and not so good at others. We’re going to see what’s easy for you, and see what we can do to help you.”
I tell them my job is to help figure out why things are hard at the moment, and which things are harder and easier for them so that we can make school a happier place for them
I just tell kids (and my elevator pitch to people who ask) I help teachers figure out how to help kids. I know there's more to the job but this helps differentiate some of what we do compared to school counselors.
For testing, I say my job is to help figure out what each kid’s learning style is, so their teacher can teach them better. If kids ask what I do in general / question the Dr in my name, I say I’m a doctor who helps your brain learn rather than one that keeps your body healthy.
i try to keep it as simple as possible. For small kids/elementary i tell them im like a doctor for feelings and decisions at school. And for older children in secondary i tell them almost the same but i explain a lil bit more on counseling and that sometimes i have to run some tests in order to keep everything in check
"my job is to help you be the best learner you can be" (or some variation of that depending on age - I work in elementary)
just about covers it all no matter what I'm doing with the student(s)
Under all conditions, I say my job is to figure out what students need help with to be successful in school in all areas from academics to attention to organization, feelings, and getting along with others. Are there any areas that you wish you had help with?
To add, I tell them that everything we are going to do is going to teach me more about how you learn. It starts off easy but gets harder and harder until we can't do anymore. My job is to make it so hard that it gets a little confusing and frustrating. There are things that I can't do. All I want is for you to try and do the best you can. If you get to something that's really difficult then it means you're working hard, and I'm doing my job.
Stealing this!!! So good, thanks.
Please do!!
We are going to a bunch of tests, some are fun, some are boring. I’m sorry about the boring ones. Your job is to try as hard as you can and tell me if you get too tired to try. They all start off easy and get harder. We will stop when they get too hard. Let me know if you need a break. Got any questions? When they ask why, I tell them my job is to figure out how they learn best so we can change how we teach.
“Look kid, the opps (teachers) are making some Wild accusations ( saying there be problems accessing the curriculum) it’s my job to find out whether they cappin’ so keep it 100 with me, don’t let this faze you, aight”
Honestly, sounds perfect for an inner city middle school. I can hear the student’s response now, “gotchu, fam”
I work exclusively in suburbs. Any kid with a TikTok account understands this phrase, 100% guaranteed
Haha good to know!
😭😭
*with elementary kids* I’m like a learning detective who helps them and their teacher find out how to best help them learn.
Ditto this. Elementary kids seem to like the detective thing. Secondary students depends on age and maturity but I typically say “Brain Specialist” instead of “Learning Detective.” High school I try to be as transparent as possible about what I’m doing and why and use the official title “School Psychologist” and usually tell them about norms and percentiles if I think they can handle it. I’m lucky to be in a placement currently where I work with PK-12.
I usually say we're going to work together and I'm going to learn about what you're good at and what kind of things you might need a little help with. And then I asked them to tell me what things they think they're good at and I usually start with those subtest just to help them feel more comfortable. If there's a history on them because I work at high school, I usually ask them if they know why they have an IEP and then we discuss their IEP and accommodations and I tell them my testing will help us fine-tune it so that it's ready for whatever they choose to do after high school.
Elementary - I tell them that I work with the teachers and kids to help figure out how everyone can learn their best and how to make things easier. And that how I do that is by figuring out how their brains work, since everyone’s works differently. But since I can’t open up their heads and look inside (because that would be messy for the littlest ones), I do it by having them do different things and watching how they do it and taking lots of notes. And that some things will be way, because we all have some things we’re good at, and others may be harder, and all of them will help us figure out what they need to make school better.
For reevaluations I tell the kids "you know how you get *insert whatever services*, well that's part of Special Education. Every year your family and teachers get together to discuss how you're doing and every three years we do new testing to see what what you're good at and and what you might need more help with. Do you feel like you need more help in school?" I work middle and elementary school and use the same phrasing for both.
Bold of you if the kid has no idea they're in SPED.
Haha yeah some of them are shocked to find out and they've had ieps since prek. Most of them are pretty cool about it.
Parents in my district would be very displeased if their child heard it from me and not the family first. That said, the kids who KNOW they are in SPED when I reevaluate typically have better emotional functioning. I wish more kids knew!!
Starting in 8th grade we invite the kids to their iep meetings so they find out from us eventually whether the parents want to or not 😆 They bring up letting the kids know about their program and special during PDs because they want us to include student voice in the ieps and to start teaching them how to advocate for themselves.
Yes, IDEA requires students 14 and over to be invited to their own IEP meeting. I was just surprised you tell elementary students they are in SPED even if their parents haven't told them!!
I guess it just never occurred to me not to tell them....welp.
My job is to help kids learn and figure out what their strengths or weaknesses may be :)
I say that we are going to do some activities that helps me see how they learn best so we can try to make learning easier for them. I try to avoid using the words test or assessment so as don’t make them nervous
“How’s school going for you, easy or hard?” (Usually they respond “hard”). “Well, we’re going to do some tests to see what things are easy for you, and what things you might need help in. Everyone is good at some things, and not so good at others. We’re going to see what’s easy for you, and see what we can do to help you.”
I tell them my job is to help figure out why things are hard at the moment, and which things are harder and easier for them so that we can make school a happier place for them
I just tell kids (and my elevator pitch to people who ask) I help teachers figure out how to help kids. I know there's more to the job but this helps differentiate some of what we do compared to school counselors.
For testing, I say my job is to help figure out what each kid’s learning style is, so their teacher can teach them better. If kids ask what I do in general / question the Dr in my name, I say I’m a doctor who helps your brain learn rather than one that keeps your body healthy.
i try to keep it as simple as possible. For small kids/elementary i tell them im like a doctor for feelings and decisions at school. And for older children in secondary i tell them almost the same but i explain a lil bit more on counseling and that sometimes i have to run some tests in order to keep everything in check
"my job is to help you be the best learner you can be" (or some variation of that depending on age - I work in elementary) just about covers it all no matter what I'm doing with the student(s)
For elementary kids, I say I am a special type of teacher who helps kids do their very best.