Do you really have school-psychologists at American schools?
Hej, In some US-American TV-shows they have school-psychologists and school-nurses at American schools (like the Simpsons or 'til death). Is that really true? Do you have something like that? Here in Germany we don't have that (maybe some pupils/teachers who had a first-aid-course [you need that for your driving liscence here]) and I think we don't really need that... A school-psychologist? What is he good for? Does he has a lot of work to do or does he sit alone in his office the whole time? How is that? And another question that doesn't really has to do with that: Are names like Gretchen or Heidi common in the USA? Thank you for all your very nice answers. They were really interesting for me. Thank you all!
Primary & Secondary Education - 7 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
We have councilors, but nothing like a psychologist. We tend to exaggerate a lot of things in our media.
2 :
Yeah, a school nurse and a school psychologist or social worker. The nurse you go to if you don't feel well and she decides if you should go home. She also gives you Tums or aspirin, bandages, q-tips, lets you lay down, etc. She is also the one who calls your parents to pick you up if you're sick, and the one to hold prescription meds for you if you have to take them during the school day. The school psychologist/social worker? Apparently my school has both, actually. The psychologist I have met once because the school thought I had some mental issues. I get the impression that she sits in her office and watches cartoons all day. My dream job! The social worker gets most of the psychologist's issues sent to her instead for some reason. I met multiple times because she can't keep her bossy nose out of other people's business. I'm serious. No, I'm not just saying that because she called CPS or anything like that. She's just a busybody and I know she got the job as a social worker because she likes the juicy gossip she hears that way. I mean, when you deal with her it's OBVIOUS she doesn't care about you personally and she's just hearing your life story and secrets because she wants the gossip and because she gets paid for it. Sorry for the rant. I just hope other schools have more competent staff. Heidi is common enough here. Gretchen is almost unheard-of, though. It depends on the name.
3 :
Nearly all schools have a psychologist but you probably won't get to hear about them unless it is decided you should see them. It is confidential.
4 :
Yes it is true, they go to a lot of special education meetings & have more than one school to deal with, and the names are here but not so common but I like them both.
5 :
Some schools have psychologists or therapists to help students. Most schools have nurses. My school only got therapists in times of crisis, like when a student died.
6 :
At my school, yes we do have school psychologists and nurses on campus to assist students whenever they are needed. Typically we have 2-4 nurses working in their office. When a student feels ill, it is the nurse's job to see if the student needs to go home. They make the final decisions on whether or not special consideration should happen (like calling for ambulence if something occurs at school). They also have have bunk beds for students to lie down or to sleep if it is needed. The school psychologist also has his own room. Typically, when a student is dealing with a stressful situation, he or she may contact the psychologist. The psychologist will try to consult the student, and may seek further guidance for the student. They are called under stressful situations such as deaths in the family. It may seem unimportant that we have a psychologist on school campus, but he or she really does work instead of sitting in the office. And, contary to the answer before mine, there are qualifications and credentials that you need in order to get this job. They are not just people who sit around and watch TV all day. In fact, many of them are doing research themselves! There really are students who go and talk to them. They're a great way to skip classes ;) Most of the time, American TV shows exaggerate the school scene, but we do have psychologists and nurses, mostly for the student's safety. Yes, there are Gretchens and Heidi's in the US. There's not many of them ( I think that there's 1 Gretchen out of 3000 students at my school and maybe 2 Heidi's). They are beautiful names however. If you cannot already see, different schools have different systems. Yes, schools have counselors as well. Counselors help you choose your classes and advice you on what to do at school and how you can get into college (at least at my school). You can talk to them whenever you need to, but if something really dramatic occurs, they contact the school psychologist. Some schools may not have a psychologists, in such a case I think they advice the parents to contact a psychologist on their own or a social worker to research the family's situation.
7 :
It is true that there are school psychologists and nurses, but I don't know how they are presented on TV in other countries. The nurses more or less determine if a child is really sick to call the parents, or to put a band-aid on a cut, but they cannot give any medication to the children. In case of a serious injury the ambulance is called and the parents are immediately called. The psychologist part does not work as well as it may sound. The majority of psychological problems the children bring to school have the origen at home, and the bureaucracy involved creates much difficulties to make it really effective. However, some help is better than no help at all. Another service that you don't mention is the school-lunch. For children of low income families, the school provides free lunch. The others pay a moderate fee. The advantage is that the menu is healthy food and well balance. The disadvantage is that some parents understate their income and not everyone is caught. So if you are dishonest, you may get free lunch and drive a Mercedes. All these are services paid with property taxes, and make the education budget so high that for some low middle class and retired people the taxes are unaffordable. I don't say all these, to be critic of my country which I love, but to show you not to believe everything you see on TV, because there are also many detractors of the USA that spread false negative things abroad. And, also, I know several Heidi, but not any Gretchen. Greetings, and thank you for showing interest in our way of life.
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