1/27/12 9:00-10:30
Today was the first day that I visited my placement. I will be doing my School Practicum at International Prep School downtown with Dr. Duffy who is the school psychologist. I am primarily going to be working more closely with Stacy Ali who is the school's social worker, and may also have some interactions with the guidance counselors since that is what I am most likely going to be going to graduate school for. I only went briefly today because I had classes at 11 o'clock, but next week I will be starting to go on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It was nice getting acclimated with the school today, and Jackie and Austin were also there so that made it less nerve wracking. They showed me the ropes of a project that they have been working on, as well as some of the Canisius students from last semester. Basically it is a massive resource binder of all of the contacts for various agencies that is there for the benefit of the students. Being an inner city school, most of the students are African American, or immigrants and many of them do not have essential resources. Dr. Duffy was telling us how many of the students are at risk for various issues (abuse, pregnancy, poverty, ect.), and how this project would be a way to provide them with necessary resources to help them cope so that they will not necessarily be hindered by their life situations. We also discussed bringing in Division One college athletes to talk to the students as a big project for us interns. Dr. Duffy wants the students to grasp the reality of how crucial athletics are in getting scholarships to college. These athletes will be coming from places such as UB, and they are going to be athletes who once were those students sitting at schools such as International Prep. I think that this will be a great project, and feel that the students will truly be able to relate to the athletes. Hopefully this will help the students to be more motivated in school. I am really looking forward to gaining this experience in this field because there is so much going on at this school, and it is obvious that Dr. Duffy and the rest of the faculty will benefit from us being there. I am really hoping to be able to be interactive with the students, and to have a very hands on experience. I just think that this is a great placement for me-- working with Stacy Ali I will be at the forefront of crisis control, and being at this school will help me to become more aware of the interactions among the child, his/ her family, their community, and their school.
1/31/12 8:00-3:30
Today was my first official day spent at International Prep. I was working closely with Dr. Duffy who is the school psychologist, as well as the two guidance counselors at the school. I am supposed to be primarily working with the school’s social worker, but Mrs. Ali has been absent from school because her child has pneumonia. However, I was really happy to be able to spend the whole day with the two guidance counselors because school counseling is what I think I am interested in pursuing for graduate school. Today was very productive in the sense that much was going on. I learned about career placement tests, scheduling, sending out information for college applicants, how to file a student for working papers and counseling. It was a very eventful day. Mrs. T had students in and out of her office all day long with an array of issues that they wanted to discuss. I really enjoyed interacting with some of the students, and I think that there is much to gain from interning at this public school. Many, if not all of the students want to be at school and want to learn, but it is obvious that many outside forces are hindering them from being successful and it is terribly sad. Many of the students are dealing with poverty, abusive households, at risk for pregnancy, at risk or in the presence of drug and alcohol abuse, and so forth. Also, many of them (from what I observed) are frequently absent or often tardy. Most of these students rely on public transportation, and have much responsibility on their shoulders outside of school work. What I really already enjoy about this experience is that it is all extremely relevant to my courses at Canisius College. In my techniques of counseling class we constantly engaged in situational role-plays in which one of us would be the client and the other would be the therapist. Through this group work, we were able to explore a plethora of situations that may arise during counseling. I think that it is important to be prepared for any situations that may arise, and to be prepared for what your clients may disclose. Also, being at International Prep helps me to recall much of what I learned about in my Child, Family, Community class with Dr. Kermis. We constantly discussed how children are products of their environment, and how outside factors influence who the child is, and how they perceive themselves. It is obvious that some of these students have not had the best upbringing, and that many students are at-risk because of their environments and life situations.
2/2/12 8:30-3:30
Today at the school I worked on some bookkeeping. One of the school’s major goals is to eventually establish a resource center for students who are in need of an array of services. Right now it is a work in process because us interns are trying to contact agencies and get information about them in order to decide if they would be a beneficial link to this school. The long-term goal is to eventually establish a list of agencies that can be administered to the students so that they have resources right in their hands if they are in need of certain services. Some of the categories include: disabilities, teen pregnancy, anger management, educational services, and so forth. Much of these topics have to deal with individuals encountering adversity that they must overcome. Being resilient is ideal, and these agencies strive to change people’s lives. We frequently talked about this topic in Child, Family, Community psychology. Today I looked up some contacts for international agencies that would be of service to the students here because many of the students at this school are immigrants and refugees who know little English. I really think that students would benefit from refugee services because many of the students are struggling with language barriers, affecting school performance, as well as the stress of assimilation. I tried calling a few international agencies in order to ask them to send information, pamphlets and brochures to the school, but some of these contacts are hard to get ahold of. The second half of my day was spent with one of the students. The school psychologist and his graduate intern were giving him psychological testing, and in between tests I was accompanying him to his classes, and spending time with him so that he could have some relaxation and down time in between the lengthy testing procedures. In the Assessment of Behavioral Sciences course at Canisius, we learned about how crucial it is for the examiner to establish good rapport with the examinee, and to remain neutral while administering the test questions. This will aid in providing adequate reliability and validity of the test results.
2/7/12 8:30-3:30
The school’s social worker is still at home with her sick child; therefore I have still been working with the guidance counselors and the school psychologist. When I came in today, Dr. Duffy wanted me to do what I did last visit, which was closely supervise the 7th grader and accompany him to all of his classes. He wanted me to take notes regarding his behavior, whether or not he was on task, and how he interacted with his classmates. However, when I went to his first period class, his teacher informed me that he was placed in a detention center last night. I was disappointed to learn that I would not be following him to his classes today. It is evident to me that having one-on-one attention during class for him is helpful because last week in his math class, I could tell he was falling behind and having me there to walk through the lesson with him slower seemed to help him stay on task. Anyway, instead of spending time with him today, I worked with the high school guidance counselor. She had me reading some information about Academic Excellence Scholarships and had me help her to get organized for what she needed to submit for the approaching deadline. Then, the guidance counselor’s graduate intern and I went to the library and helped the 11th graders take the online Career Assessment in order to help them decided what field of work they may like to pursue in college. It was fun interacting with the students, but it was also challenging because many of them did not understand what the questions and statements meant, because many of them were ESL students, and even after trying to provide some explanation they still seemed to be confused or off task. Also, it was difficult at times to connect with those students with behavioral issues, but overall I found the NYS Career Zone Assessments to be beneficial to the students.
2/9/12 8:30-3:30
Today was the first day I met the school social worker. I was really excited because she is my head supervisor that I will be working closest with, but for the past couple of weeks I have just been working with the other counselors and psychologists in the mean time, while awaiting her return to the school. She informed me a lot about what she does in the school, and told me some history of some of the troubled students that we would be meeting with. She also told me about this mentoring program that some of the upper class girls want to create with some of the fifth grade girls. Mrs. Ali is using this as in incentive for the upper class girls to behave in school, and to become positive role models. I think that this will be a great experience for all of the students because in establishing a trusting, healthy relationship, both the mentors and the mentorees will be learning from one another. For this mentor project, Mrs. Ali had me set up some of the paperwork for it. I created an outline for the upperclassmen girls laying out what a mentor program entails, what the philosophy of the program is, what is expected of them, some major goals, and objectives and so forth. I also generated a list of ice breaker games that could be used when they meet up with the 5th graders. During their lunch break, all of the upperclassmen girls came to Mrs. Ali’s office and we held a meeting for the mentorship program. We went through a lot of the bookkeeping information, and discussed the outline. This was a good time for me to get to know some of the students better, and to interact with them. They all seem excited about having this influential bond with these younger students. I really think that this program will be beneficial. The most important impact that I see it having is on the upperclassmen. I think that the guidelines we have set for them will hopefully help them to yearn to become positive role models for these young females. I think that this program will serve as a great incentive for these upperclassmen to want to be respectful, and to become better leaders. We frequently discussed topics similar to this in Behavior Modification class—the role of incentives and positive reinforcement on behavior. In giving these upperclassmen this responsibility and this opportunity, I feel that it will have positive outcomes.
2/14/12 8:30-3:30
Today Mrs. Ali had a very important legal meeting in the morning, so while she was doing that I did some busy work for her. I had to make some copies, and I also had to make some phone calls to some of the classes to make sure that students that she provided counseling for were at school. Attendence rates are extremely poor at this school, which is really sad. However, today was really exciting though because I was able to sit in on the counseling sessions that took place throughout the day. It is really beneficial for me to be able to watch her interact with the students, and to learn tips on how to be an effective helper. Mrs. Ali is so great with her students, and I give her so much credit because what she does is no easy task. She had some students come in for counseling because they are transfer students who are having trouble assimilating to this school, she had one boy come in because he is on anti-psychotic drugs and needs to be monitored, another girl who is in fifth grade and who witnessed a shooting and now has anxiety from it and is diagnosed with trichotillomania, and others with behavioral issues or family problems. A lot of what I learned in abnormal psychology and child psychopathology can be related to my placement because many of these children have severe psychopathology and personal issues that effect them on a very serious level. Also, many of the students have behavioal issues that require behavior modification techniques (reinforcement, rewards, punishment and so forth). It is so interesting working with these students, but what I love most about it is that they always conversate with me, and ask me questions, and show curiosity and interest. The students have such awesome personalities and are so fun to be around. I definitely am learning a lot from Mrs. Ali, and from the students. The environment is much more warm and friendly than I initially expected it to be.
Discussion Regarding Cultural/Diversity Issues:
What I love about this school is that it is not bland whatsoever-- the name of it says it all. International Prep is a school that is filled with international students, many who are refugees that are just learning English. The population of the school is extremely diverse. There are very few caucasian students, but there are students of every nationality. Where I went to highschool, we had a pretty diverse group of students, but nothing like how it is at International Prep. It definitely is a unique school because these kids of all different backgrounds are able to interact with one another, and to be more culturally aware. Also, in terms of my culture compared to the culture of the school, there are definitely some differences. My biggest fear is that the students will not take me seriously when I try talking to them because they may just think that I am sheltered, or a stuck up college student. I do not want them to think that I am above any of them at all. Indeed, maybe I have not experienced what some of them have experiencd, but this is a wonderful learning experience for me. Also, there are differences between socioeconomic statuses. This is an inner city public school where many of the students are battling poverty. It saddens me to see some of the children who do not have winter coats, or nice clothes because they cannot afford them. I was more fortunate than this growing up because I was never without necessities.
2/28/12 8:30-3:30
Today Mrs. Ali and me were brainstorming with some of the students about having a talent show. We wrote up some ideas and guidelines, but I really am hoping we pull through with this. Without providing the children with activites and incentives to earn, they are more likely to engage in harmful behaviors, and to possibly make bad decisions and get involved in the wrong things. Moreover, the school is holding a group formed by Hospice that is for children with loved ones who are incarcerated, or for those students who have unreliable parents/ guardians/ those who may abuse substances...ect. Mrs. Ali generated a list of students who could possibly benefit from involvement in this group, so while Mrs. Ali was at a Family Court meeting, she had me print their schedules, and when she returned we went to their classrooms, and privately asked them if they would be interested in this group. Almost all of the kids agreed to it, and I hope that it is a beneficial program for them. So many of these children have misfortune in their lives, and need all of the support they can get to help them be resilient. We always talked about that in our Child, Family, Community class with Dr. Kermis. Being resilient is a personality trait that empowers one to be strong in the face of adversity. Many of these children are hindered by their ecological model because they may not have supportive families, or peers, and their surrounding environment may not be conducive to their well-being.
3/6/12 8:30-3:30
Today we did a couple of interesting things. First, Mrs. Ali and the Assistant Principle wanted me to observe one of the seventh grade students who was having some behavioral issues. They gave me his school schedule and had me sit in on his classes and record his behavior. He was easily distracted, constantly off task, and insubordinate with his teachers. He was suspended for cursing at a substitute teacher. They are most likely going to intervene and schedule a meeting with his parents. We then made a couple of house visits. It was very interesting to meet a couple of the students’ parents. Mrs. Ali had to conduct these house visits in order to inform some of the parents that their children need special placement because they are now considered special ed. She had to get their signatures approving it, and enlighten them about the programs. I was really impressed that Mrs. Ali was able to speak fluent Spanish to one of the parents, really showing how beneficial it is to be bilingual and well-rounded. I give Mrs. Ali a lot of credit. It is apparent that her profession is very demanding, and it goes much further than just being a figure in the school.
3/8/12 830-330
Today I was gathering some information about activities and field trips for some of the students to do. Mrs. Ali thought that rewarding students with these incentives would aid in better attendance, better behavior and a better work ethic. Some of the students have showed an interest in criminal justice as a profession, so I was researching admission and information regarding the CSI exhibit at The Buffalo Museum of Science. The fees for students were pretty reasonable so I am hoping that we can follow through with this because it would be a great educational tool outside of the classroom for the students. Then throughout the day, Mrs. Ali had some counseling sessions. Some of the students have very personal issues that they are dealing with, one example being sexual abuse from parents, and some of these students are very traumatized by these situations so these counseling sessions I cannot be a part of. However, I am able to sit in on the majority of the sessions. Mrs. Ali has students with a range of problems. Some students are in one-on-one counseling, and others are in group counseling. What I find most interesting about the counseling at this school is that the students walk into her office, appointment or no appointment wanting to talk and open up to us. These students have so much depth to them and definitely engage with us whenever possible. It is obvious that a set of open ears is essential for them because many of them are not getting this at home.
3/20/12 8:30-4
Today Mrs. Ali and I finalized some of the bookkeeping things for the trip to the science museum for some of the students. She had me go to the guidance office and acquire a list of students who have shown interest, or scored high in fields such as forensics, science, law, criminal justice, ect. and these students (mostly 11th and 12th graders) are going to be recruited for the science museum field trip. One of her major concerns was that problems may arise like the last field trip to the buffalo zoo. One of the students stole one of the workers’ purses, but luckily the woman was understanding and did not press charges. However, Mrs. Ali and the other faculty were mortified by this. I find it so sad that these individuals want to do nice things for the students, but some of them abuse it. However, I do understand that many of these students were raised this way—and it is learned behavior, which we always talked about in behavior modification class and psychology 101. Many of these students do not live lavish lifestyles, so they see these situations as an opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. Moreover, I will be one of the chaperones for this field trip that will be occurring in a month so I am excited to see how the students react to the CSI exhibit.
3/22/12 8:30-3:30
Mrs. Ali not only works at International Prep, but also works at DiVinci, bouncing back and forth as a social worker at both schools. Every day that she is at International Prep when I am with her, students are flocking in to see her. She has such great rapport with her students—which we always discussed in techniques of counseling as a crucial component to the therapeutic relationship. Moreover, there are many students coming into her office all at once wanting to talk to her. Today when Mrs. Ali was talking to one student about teen pregnancy, another student burst through her door wanting to talk about her problems. Because Mrs. Ali could not cater to both students at once, she let me sit down and talk to the other girl to calm her down in the meantime. The girl was hysterical—upset about a previous boyfriend who is now with another girl. She has much conflict with the girl via Facebook. They threaten each other and fight constantly. This girl also admits to me that she had a miscarriage last summer, losing twins, her mother has cancer, her dad used to beat her, and she commits self-harm behaviors. I felt so bad for this girl because clearly she is dealing with multiple stressors. My biggest advice to her was to do things that would be conducive to her happiness. She lost a lot of her friends and family because of her boyfriend, and I told her how important it is to re-build those relationships and to gain their respect back. Later in the day we met with another student who claims to be a few months pregnant. She told us that she plans on having the baby but giving it up for adoption. Ali and I were telling her how important it is to attend regular doctor visits, take in proper nutrition and vitamins, and to take care of herself so she can have a healthy baby. Pregnancy education is so crucial for teenagers.
4/2/12 8:30-3:30
Mrs. Ali was not in school today so I got in touch with her about some bookkeeping things that I could help her with. Mrs. Ali and the ESL teacher have put together a list of international female students who are struggling in school based on the cultural and language barriers. The girls have identified which subjects they are struggling most with, so what I did was type out a formal list of the students and the subjects that they were most concerned with and then gave it to the ESL teacher. I went to the guidance counselor and looked at the some of the seniors’ schedules and transcripts and what is most stressful about this situation is that there are two senior girls who must pass four or five Regents exams in order to graduate. The counselor told me that the chances of this happening are highly unlikely because of how much they are struggling in school. I feel very sympathetic for these girls. School and exams are challenging enough, but after repeatedly failing the required Regents exams, they must be losing hope- especially with the pressure they are under regarding graduation. I am really hoping that the girls can get some special one-on-one attention from the ESL teacher and the core teachers for the classes that they are struggling with.
4/3/12 8:30-4:00
Today was another day filled with students coming in for counseling. The students are constantly pouring into her office, needing to talk to Mrs. Ali with their urgent problems, and she is always able to manage them so well. While she was meeting with a student, another one came knocking on her door needing to talk. Mrs. Ali was busy at the time with a scheduled appointment so she asked me to talk to the student, hear her out, and to deescalate the situation in the meantime. The girl was a really sweet girl—a sixth grader who was dealing with bullying in school, and alleged physical and emotional abuse by her foster mother. She was also dealing with her older sister telling her not to be friends with a certain person in the school because of her attitude and personality, and it was a big ordeal because the girl kept claiming that she was her only friend and that she understood her. The girl was sent to Mrs. Ali’s office because she was contemplating suicide and/or running away. Another girl I got to sit down and talk to was a 17-year-old Muslim girl with an elaborate history. She is married, and pregnant. However, she is deciding whether to carry on with the pregnancy, and whether or not to stay married. She is receiving pressures from her family to leave the man, and she reports that her mother has disowned her and ignores her. According to CPS reports, it was uncovered that her mom may have solicited her, and exposed her to trafficking in order to reap the monetary benefits. I was shocked when I heard this because looking at the girl you would have never guessed. This experience is rewarding and interesting. I love being able to hear the students’ stories, and their problems, and it is evident that they need an outlet, and that they are willing to talk to anybody who is willing to listen.
4/5/12 8:30-4:00
Today was the last day of classes before Easter Recess. School and class attendance was very poor today. Mrs. Ali is always so generous and considerate. She brought her students all kinds of food and treats for a mini Easter Celebration. One of the girls that she counsels has been having some very serious problems lately. Her mom has been diagnosed with Huntington’s disease and her father is incarcerated. The mortality rate is extremely high for this disease, and deterioration has a rapid, horrific onset. The student has withdrawn from her school work, and admitted to substance abuse as a coping mechanism. On this day, she came to school intoxicated, as one of her friends informed me. Before I could even notify the supervisor, the student dropped a bottle of liquor out of her backpack, and she was caught. The student had received out of school suspension following the Easter recess. I feel so sorry for her. Many of these students do not have the best home lives as it is, and when more adversity is thrown their way I feel as if many of them lose hope. It seems like she is headed in a downward spiral and I am hoping she can make some progress. The remainder of the day we spent hanging out, and had a birthday celebration for two of the girls that she counsels.
4/17/12 830-330
Today was a very interesting day at the school because I was able to experience some new things. As my previous entry stated, one of the sophomore girls was caught drinking the last day before their break. One of the students informed me that the suspended student was not intending on telling her mother about her suspension, and when the school asked for her mother's phone number to notify her of the suspension, she gave her a fake number. Due to this, Mrs. Ali and I conducted a home visit, and our intent was to talk to her mom about how everything is going at home and at school, ect. However, when we arrived at her house, it looked abandoned, and no one answered the door. While in the neighborhood, we stopped at another students house to meet with her mother. This student is a fifth grader, who I have mentioned counseling in previous entries. She is the one with
anxiety, has witnessed a shooting, and has trichotillomania. Her mother informed us that they are moving to Maryland in the fall, and mentioned her daughter being anxious and fearful of this move. Mrs. Ali noted that it would be beneficial to touch on this major event in her life within the next counseling sessions to come. It is important for the student to mentally prepare herself for the move, and to implement coping tactics for her anxiety. Lastly, when we returned to the school, I was allowed to sit in on a CSE meeting. The meeting was centered on a 14-year-old student, whom I actually met a couple weeks ago. She is under the care of her two foster parents, who were also at the meeting. Her parents were such intelligent, caring, and wonderful people. The student is having many issues. She has been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and although she does not have any physical deformities, she has acquired some of the other harmful effects. After having psychological assessments with the school psychologist, it was found that she is extremely impulsive because she has poor executive functioning capabilities and suffers with working memory. Moreover, she is known for running away from home, has threatened suicide, and has mentioned a very intricate, and detailed plan on how she would murder her siblings and parents. They have concluded that she has a great deal of emotional disturbance. The meeting addressed on what the plan of action is to be from here on out. Discussion included a referral to a child psychiatrist, contacting CPS, and setting up court dates. I am interested to see how this situation plays out. I am really hoping for some positive outcomes. This situation is extremely escalated, and the student, her family, and the faculty at Prep are all very stressful.
4/18/12 830-330
Today was tragedy at the school. The moment I walked into Mrs. Ali’s office I could sense that something was wrong. She informed me that one of the fifth grade students at the school was brutally murdered in his basement the previous night by his aggressive stepfather. Absolutely heartbreaking. I never met this student but I have heard that he was smart, witty, caring, and so much more. The school had to bring in Crisis Services in order to console the students and teachers. Once everyone received the message it was massive upheaval. Earlier that morning I photocopied sheets out of a child’s grief booklet that served as a journal for the children to vent. Around noon, the deceased student’s best friend came down to talk. Mrs. Ali and I counseled him and two other boys. Mrs. Ali was busy coordinating many things that were going on in the school so she eventually left me with the boys to talk to them and to express feelings. The boys really opened up to me—they expressed feelings of anger, sadness, and fear, but then something wonderful happened—I was able to get them to open up, tell stories, and reminisce and laugh about the funny things that Abdi did. I think that after the boys left they felt a little bit better about the situation. However, I know that everyone in that school will be hurting for a long time. This is extremely horrific, but the beauty that comes out of it is that everyone is depending on each other and coming together to make sense of this tragedy. As I finish up my internship these next couple weeks, I will be happy to be a set of ears for any of the students who come down wanting to express grief.
4/19/12 830-330
Today there was much grieving going on at the school. Today again there were crisis counselors present for the students who needed help coping. Mrs. Ali found out some of Abdi's close friends and relatives, and called them down to her office in order to see how they are feeling, and helped them express some of their emotions. Everyone is expressing disgust, anger and sadness. The hardest part is that this could have been prevented because Abdi was sending out cries for help. The Muslim ceremony is taking place tomorrow and I know that many of the students were interested in attending in order to honor Abdi and his grieving family. I was so refreshed that some of the students and teachers had circular stickers and wrote "RIP ABDI" on them, and literally every person in the school was wearing one on their shirt. Mrs. Ali and I were talking about other ways to honor Abdi in the future. She expressed interest in maybe getting a landscaping business to donate a tree, and that the individuals at the school could plant it and dedicate it to the remembrance of Abdi. Also, in the future, Mrs. Ali and the other counselors are hoping to hold an informational lecture where they would tell the students the importance of reporting any types of abuse to any adult in the school or at home. Many of the students do not disclose information that their peers tell them because they are afraid of CPS. Also, culturally, many of the Somalians, Muslims, or other Middle Eastern students are fearful of law enforcement because the authority that they are accustomed to are corrupt and kill their own people. Many of the students have expressed this to us. There are many cultural barriers that the school is facing because in Muslim culture, corporal punishment is enforced, and many of the Muslims believe that this was Abdi's 'fate,' whereas Americans are disgusted and horrified. This is so hard for the school to manage because they want to be tolerant of individual differences and culture, but at the same time their number one priority is to keep the children safe-- sometimes even from their own families. At this point, there is a heightened need for education, information, and righteousness.
5/9/12 8-2
Today was my last day at the school. Mrs. Ali had a little celebration for me with some of the students that we counsel. Today I just did some bookkeeping work-- making some copies for Mrs. Ali, and putting together pamphlets for social history reports for students. While she had a meeting with a parent, I took our group counseling group of students down to the gym to play some basketball with some of the boys. It was a pretty calm and relaxing last day at the school. I was very grateful to have met the people that I did, and really enjoyed my time with Mrs. Ali and the students. They truly provided me with an insightful and welcoming experience.
