April 10, 2018, KMUW—Public Radio, Wichita, KS: Kansas Turns To School Psychologists For An Education Fix But Finds A Shortage http://kmuw.org/post/kansas-turns-school-psychologists-education-fix-finds-shortage Jim Persinger tells the story with a little frustration. A school administrator saw school psychologists — his field — as interchangeable with counselors and social workers. … But school psychologists figure out which students need special education, or identify learning difficulties early enough to help kids — and their schools — avoid costly special education. Increasingly, Kansas looks to school psychologists to cure its education woes — banking that their expertise can help students meet ambitious education goals and tackle a growing student mental health crisis. … The remaining psychologists across the state feel the strain of a growing workload. … Fiorini said the number of students in her program has doubled, though that’s still not enough to solve the Kansas shortage. And she’s running into another problem other school psychology programs across the state are facing: not enough professors to train all the new school psychologists Kansas needs.
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.