When I was a child, in 3rd grade, I fell in love with Little House in the Big Woods. I distinctly remember locating it in the little classroom library. I am not sure if I read it before or after Caddie Woodlawn, another fine chapter book about strong pioneer girls. There were no benchmarks—I don’t […]
Parents of Students with Disabilities Who Love High-Stakes Testing: How to Convince Them Otherwise
Adversaries to ending high-stakes testing are not always misguided education reformers who worship big data, but other parents. Some of the loudest crusaders in favor of high-stakes testing are parents with students who have disabilities. As Congress plans to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), some parents are speaking up against changes that […]
How “Yeee Haw” Howard Dean is Way off Base Concerning Teach for America
How many times were we subjected to Howard Dean’s Yee Haw speech on the news? And how much will the media debate Dean’s words about Teach for America (TFA)? I am guessing, probably not at all, but his words are out there now, with his Salon interview, and he is mistaken when it comes to […]
The High-Stakes Testing/Common Core Connection to New Teacher Ed. Regulations
High-stakes testing, Common Core and teacher education are all interconnected. Controlling for all three is a privatization package deal. For years, there has been a push to deprofessionalize teaching and that includes going to the heart of what makes a good teacher—teacher education. By doing so, the school reformers change the way teachers work. Not […]
College Advising Corps, or Counselors for America—De-professionalizing a Critically Important Role in Public Schools
If you think the concept behind Teach for America, diluting the profession with bright, happy-go-lucky, non-professional college grads, many of whom can’t find jobs in their chosen field, is just for teachers, think again. College Advising Corps could be called Counselors for America. The group might seem different than Teach for America (TFA) because they […]
Some Michigan Special Education History: A Lesson for All States
By Marcie Lipsitt Michigan once had a proud heritage of believing in the educational rights of our students with disabilities. But what has transpired over the past 39 years is not worthy of our history books or a wondrous fairy tale of children’s dreams come true. For Michigan’s 200,000 students with an Individualized Education Programs […]
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Education President—Lyndon B. Johnson
Today is Martin Luther King Day to honor the man who did so much to bring people together. We have also been through several weeks of media presentations with Arne Duncan discussing the renewal of Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). And, the movie Selma debuted in theaters across the country. What do […]
Are Today’s Children Developmentally Different from Children in the Past?
Does research show us that young children have evolved to where they can learn faster? Are they smarter than they used to be? No! There is no research to indicate that a child’s brain has evolved over the years to where they need a learning environment that is more difficult from the past. What has […]
Pushing Common Core State Standards: Educational Professional Associations We Once Loved
It is sad, for many, to watch professional associations, long trusted to care for and support students, parents and teachers, sign on to propagandizing Common Core as great for schools and children. Many parents and educators see through this. In addition, and this is most important, why do those selling Common Core continue claiming it […]
Repercussions of Losing Part-Time Resource Classes for Students with Mild/Moderate Disabilities
It is interesting that so many titles and posts I write involving school reform have to do with loss. The resource class for students with learning disabilities and sometimes behavioral problems is one more loss when it comes to students and their public schools. Resource classes were designed to help students in elementary, middle and […]