Little children are like sponges, soaking up knowledge of the world around them every minute. So when they start formal education, how much science, social studies and the arts do students in elementary school get? Teaching these subjects used to be important. Learning in these areas sent some of us into our future professions. We […]
Should We Ban “Special Education”?
What’s in a student’s name? What about the name special education? NPR has an article today about how special education language has evolved. So why not drop the term special ed? I think a lot of parents and teachers would rejoice at that. The trouble with getting rid of words or changing them to be […]
Public v. Private Charter Schools and Bernie Sanders
Sen. Bernie Sanders is praising public education and teachers. Democrats for Education Reform (DFER), a neoliberal group that supports the privatization of public schools, is unfairly making Sanders out to be a flip-flopper on charter schools. When asked about whether he supports charter schools, Sanders says he “supports public charter schools.” He says the same […]
Recess v. Online Social-Emotional Learning
Education Week is reporting about technology to be used to teach social-emotional skills. It’s called Social-Emotional Learning–SEL for short. I find it ironic that at the same time, Florida senators just said no to recess. Are they telling us that computers should be used to teach students how to relate to one another? Is this […]
Real Teachers to the Rescue
For years America’s public school system has had to endure individuals in educational leadership positions that have no real education degrees or background involving how children and adolescents learn—and who have scant experience in the classroom. Think about state superintendents. There’s John White in Louisiana, or Kevin Huffman who once ruled in Tennessee. Of course, […]
Discounting Learning Disabilities in B.C., AU, U.S., and England–and Finding HOPE
Are they ending special education programs where you live? It turns out this is happening around the world. Parents with students who have learning disabilities can’t find assistance, or, like in England, they are mistreated in institutions. But don’t give up. There is hope, as I explain at the end of this post. Parents in […]
What’s WRONG with Florida and its Treatment of Students with Disabilities?
Why are we having this conversation again? Today, I am going to highlight Paula Drew, who, as the mother of a student with profound disabilities, has run up against bullies who want unnecessary, unrealistic Florida testing. Paula has kindly shared her moving speech to the Sarasota County School Board which you can find below. Paula’s […]
The Loss of Special Education Teachers
Where did all the special education teachers go? Special education teachers who study and address the unique differences in students are really a part of the whole learning puzzle—necessary to a student’s future success. But alas, special education teachers are falling by the wayside. Time to update this post. In Washington State they are using […]
Using Teacher Shortage Talk to Justify Online Instruction
A few weeks ago Nick Morrison wrote an article for Forbes titled “Sleepwalking Our Way into the Teacher-Less Classroom.” He insists that technology, specifically the takeover by online instruction in schools, is not the real danger facing education. Instead, he claims it is a teacher shortage. According to Morrison, teachers leave due to pressure, and […]
H.S. Future Teachers Being Prepped for Common Core and Competency-Based Education
We hear we have a serious problem finding teachers for America’s classrooms. One solution is to encourage students in high school to become career teachers. Young people are full of vibrant ideas and high school should be considered a valuable place for teacher recruitment. I am not saying we should push students to be teachers, […]