The implication of all this for early education is clear. Although a teaspoon of Mozart may not make a child a better mathematician, there is little doubt that regular exposure to music, an especially active participation in music, may stimulate development of many different areas of the brain—areas which have to work together to listen […]
Gifted Students are Short-changed with Common Core State Standards
Today I am going to write about gifted students and the Common Core State Standards. There is plenty to write about this neglected area of special education without discussing CCSS. The needs of gifted students have never been fully addressed because, in general, people think gifted students learn fast and school will be easy. Parents […]
Why Do Catholics Care About Common Core?
And every student deserves to be prepared for a life of the imagination, of the spirit, and of a deep appreciation for beauty, goodness, truth, and faith. Gerard Bradley and Catholic Scholars October 16, 2013 Valerie Strauss’s post about Catholic scholars rejecting the Common Core is an important read http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/11/02/catholic-scholars-blast-common-core-in-letter-to-u-s-bishops/. That so many Catholics find it necessary […]
Another Teach For America Ra Ra Study to Slam Real Teacher Ed. Programs
Tennessee is all abuzz with another study to go after real degreed and credentialed teachers. I say “real” because the powerhouses have even tampered with certification. In many places a certified teacher doesn’t mean what it used to mean. Teach for America and other alternative training programs rule in this state. They are running away […]
Good-bye NICHCY! But Why?
For decades the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY) has been a go-to website for families and educators seeking information about how to find support for young students and children and youth with disabilities. My website is a work in progress and when I went to add NICHCY to the section on Special Education, […]
Real Student Zombies by Next Halloween?
According to Wikipedia, the term “Zombie” figuratively applied describes “a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli.” Are students being turned into zombies in our schools? Think about this. The reformers want “rigor”—short for rigor mortis. Children are being over-tested.They’ve lost their recess. Children, who may […]
Advocacy Groups for Parents of Children with Disabilities
On Monday I wrote about two significant class action suits that steered the course for students with disabilities to receive a more “appropriate” education in their public schools. Today I am providing lists of some advocacy groups for parents to contact if they are dissatisfied with the Common Core and/or other issues negatively affecting their […]
Common Core and Students with Disabilities—What Now?
Not long ago children with disabilities were denied a free public education. Some were even institutionalized. Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens (PARC), in 1972, and the case that followed on its heels, Mills v. Board of Education (MILLS), helped open the door for exceptional learners to attend public school and receive an “appropriate” education. Here […]
Who’s “Dreaming Big”—Students or IBM?
Here’s the question.Is it helping disadvantaged teens to plug them into corporately-designed programs, starting when they are in ninth grade, steering them through six years of training where they will wind up with an Associate’s Degree related to a corporation? Should this be the purpose of all schooling in America? Is it right for teenagers? […]
Less High-Stakes Testing—More Focus on Mental Health and Personalized Schooling
This past week saw yet again two horrible instances of violence—once again at schools. Two popular teachers are gone, along with a troubled student. Another student will possibly be tried as an adult and prosecuted. Again we wonder whether public schools do much to help disturbed students. In both these situations, unless something new pops […]