Welcome to my blog and website! My opinions are my own. My webpage is self-supported and written on behalf of public schools. I accept no advertising.

I believe public schools can bring children together in a lovely way to meet their academic and social needs. Good public schools are the foundation of this nation and will make a better world.

My blog focuses on a variety of topics in support of public schools. I have posted for 8 years and have met many interesting people through social media. I always appreciate comments even if we disagree, and I try to always reply.

I was a teacher in the area of special education for many years, and I have a PhD in educational leadership from Florida State University.

You can find posts about special and early childhood education, reading, school integration, teachers, administration, school facilities, Common Core, parents and other issues surrounding today’s troubling education reforms.

I search the news, and current research, and critique problematic school reform issues that I believe are harmful to the welfare of students, teachers and parents.

My website is an ongoing collection of links to sites that might be interesting to students and teachers. I’m always looking for feedback. If you would like to add your site under one of these categories, please let me know.

I showcase writings and other websites.

Also, if you would like to post something about learning and public schools on my blog, please let me know. I am eager to share the ideas of others, even if we disagree.

You can find the contact information below.

My Top Posts

If you are new to my site, you might be interested in some of my most popular posts.

Early Childhood Education

How School Reform, Including Common Core, Has Devastated Children and Their Joy of Learning to Read

Are Today’s Children Developmentally Different from Children in the Past?

Special Education

Do Public School Students Need Special Ed. Anymore?

The Loss of Special Education Teachers

Reading

Poverty & Reading: The Sad and Troubling Loss of School Libraries and Real Librarians

Setting Children Up to Hate Reading

FORCE & FLUNK: Destroying a Child’s Love of Reading—and Their Life

The POWER of Picture Books v. High-Stakes Testing & Common Core

Parents

Serving Moms of Students with Special Needs in Public Schools

What’s Scary to Kids: Having Dyslexia and Being Held Back in Third Grade!

Teachers

25 Reasons Why You Should Appreciate Public School Teachers

Teacher Age Discrimination During a So-Called Teacher Shortage

The Arts

The Theft of the Tradition of Music in OUR Public Schools

What Happens to Artists Who Aren’t Good Readers?

Bio

I majored in teaching students with emotional disabilities and my minor was elementary education from Central Michigan University. I have worked in a variety of areas in special education, including children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disabilities and autism.

I was a principal and a Title I grant manager in state program for students with disabilities before returning to school to work on a PhD.

I worked with students with severe physical and cognitive disabilities at one of the first public school programs in an institution in Tallahassee. The program was frequently visited by curious Florida policymakers.

Most of my work has been in the area of learning disabilities. My M.Ed is in teaching Learning Disabilities from the University of North Florida. I also earned credentials in developmental disabilities from UNF. Later I received certification in gifted education from the University of South Florida.

I taught in a public middle school resource class for students with learning disabilities and later a resource class for students at the high school level. I received a Council for Exceptional Children, Division of Learning Disabilities Innovation Grand to combine career education with high school remedial reading for students with learning disabilities.

I left teaching, in part, due to my frustration with the school reforms that plague public schools and which are designed to privatize education.

I have been published in Phi Delta Kappan and Education Week. I am an activist on the issue of safe school facilities. In 2012, I was invited to speak about school building safety at the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s annual meeting in Memphis, Tennessee.

I was an adjunct instructor in special education at the University of Memphis until deciding to write full time.

I have authored two books and co-authored the most recent book with Diane Ravitch, which I consider an honor.

EdSpeak and Doubletalk: A Glossary to Decipher Hypocrisy and Save Public Schooling (Teachers College Press, 2019)

Losing America’s Schools: The Fight to Reclaim Public Education (Rowman & Littlefield, July 2016)

Misguided Education Reform: Debating the Impact on Students (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013)

My special interests involve how public schools work, all areas of special education, race relations, reading and students with learning disabilities, twice exceptional students, and student mental health issues.

I am married to a professor who kindly listens to me talk about education all day. And I have an adult daughter of whom I have always been immensely proud. I enjoy hiking and children’s literature.