Attendance in traditional public schools is important. If a school age student does not attend school, there is an investigation into why. Children who have chronic absenteeism often drop out of school. For many corporate bigwigs, the ultimate goal in schooling is to make money by getting students online at home for all their schooling. […]
Arizona Fails its Children!
Arizona is holding back 1,400 third graders. I guess they are following Florida’s misguided lead. The Arizona Department of Education said the third-graders did not pass the math and English portions of the Arizona’s Measurement of Educational Readiness to Inform Teaching — AzMERIT — test. (KTAR News) Expect More Arizona seems O.K. with the failures. Here […]
Are We Being Duped? Why Not End Tax-Supported Charter Schools?
I just returned from Washington DC where I marched for Save Our Schools (SOS), and where I was honored to speak on a panel with two individuals whom I respect as experts about special education needs. I mingled with many great educators and parent activists who I consider friends. We stood side-by-side to support great […]
What’s Individualized about the IEP and ESSA?
I am reviving an old post that raises questions about the relevancy of the Individualized Educational Plan when it is written according to the general grade level content standards. If everyone is expected to be alike, how important is the IEP? Under the Every Student Succeeds Act almost all students with disabilities must follow the […]
It’s Like Invisible Drones Following Students in School
Trustworthy Computing is the highest priority for all the work we are doing. We must lead the industry to a whole new level of Trustworthiness in computing. Bill Gates in an email sent to his employees, discussed in Wired January 17, 2002 __________ Happy 4th of July! This is a good time to think about […]
The Dangers of Eliminating Teacher Preparation
Wisconsin is thinking about letting anyone teach. No degree will be required to enter the classroom and work with students. Isn’t it bizarre to encourage young people to go to college but claim their teachers don’t need a college degree? Surely this is quackery. But I thought it would be a good time to do […]
What Digital Games Miss—Socialization
Today, I approach the closet I have been dreading, for there, perched on the shelves are the games my family has played for years. These aren’t digital games, though we have not been opposed to some of those when alone. But these are games I can actually touch and hold in my arms. I can […]
When ADHD Collides With Grit: What to Do?
How does a student with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) get grit, when everything about grit is contrary to ADHD? Grit, defined, is perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Grit entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress. The gritty individual approaches achievement as a […]
The Summer Reading Rigor Rebellion
If middle school students require summer reading assignments to coax them to read, shouldn’t we be looking at what went wrong with reading instruction in elementary school? By the time a student reaches middle school, shouldn’t they like to read? Yesterday I noticed some of these summer reading assignments posted online. Reading rigor is found […]
4 Reasons Why Charter Schools Should Not Do Special Education
A common complaint about charter schools is that they don’t provide special education. This makes charter schools much different from traditional public schools which provide services to all children. Charter schools should not get district special education funding for services they do not provide. But I don’t think charter schools should provide special education. Here’s […]