My Role as a Speech Language Pathologist
One of the reasons why the job of a speech language pathologist appealed so much to me (in my naive college days) was the autonomy of the profession. Most of the time, it's true - my immediate supervisors are not aware of my comings and goings and I have free license to do my job as I see fit, so long as the children are getting their services, the paperwork is submitted on time, I get along at least decently with my co-workers, and the parents are happy. The last part is tricky sometimes. As a preamble to launching into my spiel about difficult parents, let me just say that the autistic population is booming, especially in high tech areas. Where do they come from, you ask? Well, they come from somewhere and when you meet some (NOT ALL) of the parents, you nod your head sagely and inside your brain say "Bingo!". The prevalence of autism and causes for the recent boom to be discussed in some other blog entry down the line. Back to the parents.... now it appears that my job title has shifted from "a professional who leads the student to the proverbial water" to "the professional who not only leads the student to the proverbial water, but shoves his face down in it until he has all but drowned". Let me just say that, for you parents out there, it is not (most of the time) that educators are opposed to listening to parental input. I think the major roadblocks come when parents dictate every aspect of a child's educational goals to the teaching staff instead of working together as a team to come up with realistic, attainable, and practical goals. It assumes the parents know way more about the educational system than the teachers ever could and that teachers and support personnel cannot and should not be trusted to ever teach children. My general wondering is, if this is really how parents feel, why not just homeschool your child? I don't agree with homeschooling, but I don't pretend to have all the answers. As a parent, I've gone through my own disillusionment regarding the public school system after watching my son fail a year of math while seeing the school offer no support and leaving it to me to shell out the big bucks for Sylvan (and over 3K later, he still failed). Even though that's an aside, it emphasizes that I'm not completely blind to what parents go through in dealing with the public school system.
What it comes down to is that, even though I am used to autonomy, I enjoy working in a team. But a team is not when one person (whomever that may be) is in control and does not value anyone else's input - especially if it contradicts their own beliefs. What upsets me even more is to see that parents want goals like "so-and-so will internalize x". I'm not new in the field, but how the hell does one teach a kid to "internalize" something? Why are the goals that I'm working on with child X dictated to me as if I have no insight to offer? Does the fact that I love working with kids and I bust my ass to do my best for them count for anything? Does anyone care that I care? Why am I doing this job, again?
posted by Notta Wallflower at 5:32 PM
11 Comments:
We would have LOVED having a professional who could work with our son and would have GLADLY worked at home with him, using the teacher's system. Unfortunately they didn't have a system for him and we had to research to come up with our own. :(
Why would parents expect YOU to work on internalizing issues? You're a speech therapist, not a psychologist.
I get so disgusted with parents who expect the school to do EVERYTHING for their child and don't take the time to follow through with the program at home!
TSHS - That is exactly my beef. At the meeting, I suggested strategies to try at home and the only response I got from Mrs. PITA was "I don't have the time to do that at home - that's your job". Grr! By the way, I shouldn't complain too much - the majority of my parents are not like that. It's just that those few who are really make it tough sometimes. :-P
Because you are a kind person who cares? There. Do you feel better now?
Kari - LOL, I wish it was that simple. I think I need to vent (blogging and bitching to H), then remember all my good parents, then go on with life as usual. :-P
wow Notta. There's a lady in Houston that I wish I could introduce you to. I spent about an hour being all ears to hear rants about parents. She's a schoolteacher, and a d*mn fine one, and has to put up with yuppie parents all the time who think their kid can walk on water.
I've dealt with the goods and bads with teachers for my son. We can't homeschool him, because my wife doesn't make a tenth of what I make and she can't teach English. He already spells as well as she does.
Weird that you have to deal with all this stuff. Like I've told you before, I had a speech therapist. I owe this guy big time, because I'd have serious issues today if it weren't for him. He did his job and went home. Didn't have to deal with parents. I wonder what has changed. I'm wondering why you have to deal with psychological issues instead of just doing what you do best.
ZS - I think the field has changed. Judging from the professional boards I read, I'm not the only one with this issue. And, as long as I pick well-off districts, there will be well off parents who can afford lawyers and who aren't afraid to use them. I hate to make generalizations, but I think men are better at boundaries than women, at least professionally. I talk with the OT and he tells me "just do the best you can do and go home". It's just never that easy for me.
Notta - I do think that's true. Men can be assertive as teachers. I've watched male teachers yell at a class to get them to calm down and shut up so he could teach the class. You see a woman do that and she gets in trouble with parents, especially mothers.
Now, old women can do that and not get in trouble. That's another thing I've noticed. But young women (under 40) doing that and you'll see parents complaining.
This double standard needs to stop. Weird thing is, the double standard isn't caused by men, but by other women.
Now, I'm speaking from experience. If your experiences are completely different from what I just said, then maybe it's just what I've seen. But I'm repeating it exactly as I see it.
Oh, in case you're wondering, being unemployed for two years is why I personally met all of Junior's teachers, his principles, and even met his neighboring teachers and sat in his classroom a few times. So that's what I'm basing my generalizations from.
He went to three schools in the past three years, and the only public school I thought was any good was the one in Texas where both men and women teachers are strict and nobody complains. If I were a teacher, it wouldn't be the kids that drive me nuts but the parents.
ZS - I agree with what you've said - I've seen it with my own eyes. I work with a very good teacher who is very strict with his class and yes, he even seems to yell at them. But jeez, it works! I would never dream of getting away with something like that. However, even though my method is different, I don't put up with any b.s. from my kids. I basically tell them that I will show them respect and I expect them to return it. If they choose not to do that, they can return to class. I don't yell though - I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm not sure that it's just because I'm a woman. I think it's more because I HATE getting yelled at. And yeah, I've said this before, but working with the kids is the easy part of my job. :-)
My only involvement in the teaching field created very few problems for me. My students were young sailors, who were out of parental reach, and being taught under strict draconian guidelines. I was considered to be the source of the knowledge and they were there to learn 'or else', everything was done by the book and I dealt with the Knotty questions.
Discipline was strict, disorder non existent.
An educators Utopia, wishful thinking in this day and age.
Vest - I envy your experience. Sometimes, for the reasons you mentioned, I'd like to teach college. But, I'd have to go back to school and get my PHD, which I have no desire to do. :-P
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