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School Social Work NOW!
Supporting Innovative Practice,
Effective Leadership, and Applied Research
Vol 6, Issue 27
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Who are Specialized Instructional Support Personnel?
School Social Workers
School Psychologists
School Counselors
School Nurses
Any many other professionals whose services provide support to children and youth in school.
PLEASE sign up for Thunderclap TODAY by 12 NOON EDT. You can use Facebook if you wish! Go to SISP Thunderclap and check it out. All you need do is sign up. The work is done by those of us "behind the scenes." You will not be spammed nor get oodles of emails by signing up. One hundred people--or more--are needed to make this effective!
And sorry for shouting!
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The room was full - it was the first in a series of parenting classes I was running for one of the schools I work with and the attendance was excellent. Emily's mum stood up first. She choked back tears, composed herself, and then told us that she no longer liked her child.
There's a stigma to a statement like that. There was an intake of breath in the room. Yet I was not surprised. I knew the backstory here, as I had been working with Emily through the school. And although you might not think it, this feeling is incredibly common. Learn more.
Tell us what you think...
...Dr. [Steve] Perry received his Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Pennsylvania and has since become a leading expert in education, a motivational speaker, accomplished author, and a reality tv host. Dr. Perry was adamant that social workers are the key to solving societal problems because we are the first responders for social issues.
However, he also pointed out that social workers are not unionized, tend to be politically inactive, and do not engage in social conversations in the public sphere...we are silent, and taxpayer dollars are being diverted to education budgets for programs social workers should be implementing.
Now, I am going to share with you my top 5 reasons why I believe social work is failing... Full article.
If you work with teens, you've probably found that your own emotions have been triggered by their behavior at one time or another...Mindfulness can help you to stay in the present moment and manage judgments or misinterpretations of a teen's behavior.
When we practice mindfulness with teens, we boost our ability to slow down our own responses and focus effectively on just what is occurring in the moment-without assigning any potentially inaccurate or unhelpful judgment, evaluation, assessment or commentary. In a sense, practicing mindfulness in this context allows us to slow down enough to receive the pure essence of what is being communicated. More.
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Take a moment to think about the people who have inspired you. What made them stand apart from everyone else you've come in contact with throughout your life? When I say inspired, I mean that they encouraged a movement within you to create - especially to create something that inventively changed you. What was it about that person that gave you the courage to push back fear? When we think of good leaders, we think about people who have been able to change patterns in our lives and push us beyond limitations we've put on ourselves. You may not always see yourself as inspiring, but when you come in contact with people who are, you start to see yourself as capable. So what makes these leaders inspirational? You can break it down to three things: action, consistency, and authenticity. Complete article.
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"The Primordial Violence" (Routledge, 2013) shows that the reasons parents hit those they love includes a lot more than just correcting misbehavior. It provides evidence on the effect spanking has on children, and what can be done to end it. The book features longitudinal data from more than 7,000 U.S. families as well as results from a 32-nation study and presents the latest research on the extent to which spanking is used in different cultures and the subsequent effects of its use on children and on society.
"Research shows that spanking corrects misbehavior. But it also shows that spanking does not work better than other modes of correction, such as time out, explaining, and depriving a child of privileges..." Read more.
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The Community-Partnered School Behavioral Health Modules
~ Free Training Series and CEUs Offered ~
www.mdbehavioralhealth.com
Signs of Suicide Program & Gatekeeper Training Module 1.5 CEUs. Free.
from Teachers College Press. A hard copy will be mailed to you. Free.
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Recommended Read for April
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by Ta-Nehisi Coates
"I came to see the streets and the schools as arms of the same beast. One enjoyed the official power of the state while the other enjoyed its implicit sanction. But fear and violence were the weaponry of both."
Kirkus Reviews: The powerful story of a father's past and a son's future. Atlantic senior writer Coates..offers this eloquent memoir as a letter to his teenage son, bearing witness to his own experiences and conveying passionate hopes for his son's life. "I am wounded," he writes. "I am marked by old codes, which shielded me in one world and then chained me in the next."
Coates grew up in the tough neighborhood of West Baltimore, beaten into obedience by his father. "I was a capable boy, intelligent and well-liked," he remembers, "but powerfully afraid." His life changed dramatically at Howard University, where his father taught and from which several siblings graduated. Howard, he writes, "had always been one of the most critical gathering posts for black people." He calls it The Mecca, and its faculty and his fellow students expanded his horizons, helping him to understand "that the black world was its own thing, more than a photo-negative of the people who believe they are white." Coates refers repeatedly to whites' insistence on their exclusive racial identity; he realizes now "that nothing so essentialist as race" divides people, but rather "the actual injury done by people intent on naming us, intent on believing that what they have named matters more than anything we could ever actually do."...This moving, potent testament might have been titled "Black Lives Matter." Or: "An American Tragedy." Read a sample.
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| Professional Development Opportunities |
Poverty to Blame for Most Youth Homelessness Worldwide
In most cases, poverty is the main reason children and teens worldwide end up homeless or living on the streets, according to a new review of past research.
About 40 percent of youths reported poverty as the main reason they were homeless, according to the report in JAMA Pediatrics. Family conflict and abuse were also among the most commonly reported reasons for living on the streets.
The findings should make policymakers "think hard about what they can do about these issues," said senior author Paula Braitstein, who is affiliated with the University of Toronto and based in Kenya. The researchers say societies often classify homeless youths as juvenile delinquents, which results in exclusion, criminalization and oppression. More.
As with other groups, there is a stereotype of food stamp, or SNAP benefit, recipients. Many people believe that most food stamp recipients resemble President Ronald Reagan's infamous 'welfare queen"; women of color who would rather collect money from the government than go to work, poor families who have more kids than they can afford, or some combination of the two. However, the actual demographics of SNAP benefit users are quite different from this stereotype.
Perhaps the most important demographical fact about food stamp recipients is that around 40% are white. However, many politicians continue reinforce the idea that welfare programs are used almost exclusively by minority populations. For example, in 2012, former Senator Rick Santorum said, "I don't want to make Black people's lives better by giving them somebody else's money, I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money."
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School Social Work Positions
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Understanding Childhood Trauma: The School's Role
Please join Screening for Mental Health (SMH) for a FREE webinar on Monday, April 25 at 1PM EST that will help schools understand the impact of trauma and steer them to the right resources. It will feature SMH Youth Programs Manager Meghan Diamon; Riverside Trauma Center Clinical Services Director Joanna Bridger, and from the Los Angeles Unified School District we welcome the Coordinator of Special Education Program Joshua Kaufmann and Psychiatric Social Worker Elida Mena. The webinar will include information on the following topics:
- Childhood trauma basics, including prevalence and how it impacts youth
- The link between trauma and suicide risk, including trauma-informed assessment
- Classroom behaviors/manifestations related to trauma
- How schools can support students with trauma history
- Resources schools can access through the National Childhood Traumatic Stress Network
- How the SOS Program addresses trauma
- Case studies/Examples
The webinar will also include time for questions from the audience. Register.
Webisode: Behavioral Health Concerns in Classrooms
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) latest webisode recording with Knowledge Network for Systems of Care TV (KSOC-TV) addresses the topic of identifying and managing behavioral health concerns in elementary school classrooms. The panelists, including Center for School Mental Health affiliate faculty, Dr. Kimberly Becker, provide specific strategies on how students, parents, teachers, and administrators can work together to support positive mental health among elementary school students. Watch by clicking here. Approx. 1 hr.
Webisode: Expulsion and Suspension Policies in Early Childhood Settings
The Child and Family Policy Consortium webinar features presentations on expulsion and suspension policies in early childhood settings. Speakers include Dr. Walter Gillian (Yale University) and Dr. Oscar Barbarin (University of Maryland - College Park). Click here to watch. Approx. l hr.
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2ne Quarter Deadline: June 30, 2016
Grants of up to $500 are available for "innovative programs, events, or projects" from the Meemic Foundation for Michigan, Wisconsin or Illinois. Apply online using their easy application that takes less than 30 minutes to complete. These grants are open to any employee of a K-12 public or private school. Universities and colleges may also apply. Fill-in-the-blank application.
Grants are accepted year round, but the second quarter cycle ends June 30th. Grants are up to $500. Recipients will be notified by August 15th.
The foundation says it supports "basically anything that supports teachers and enhances the student's educational experience" - from field trips to books to behavior modification programs; science, music, or art equipment to professional development.
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