Tennessee lawmakers just signed off on a $100 Million program called Reading 360. Sixty million is federal Covid-19 relief money and $40 million federal grant money. What is this? Why Tennessee? Will other states follow? While the media bombards the public with learning loss warnings, this program is about acceleration. Fast-Track Here’s what the brochure […]
How Dwindling Human Interaction in Public Schools Hurts Us as a Society
Look at the picture above. Is the boy going to pick on the girl, or will he invite her to play with the other children? In today’s impersonal school climate, how do students learn about those around them? When there’s no chance of bringing students together in school, how will children better understand their peers? […]
IEPs for All—Or Something Else?
Some of us imagined a public school system that would drop special education labels and look at all children individually and collectively for their strengths and what they need to learn. We thought of it as Individual Educational Plans (IEPs) for everyone. You will likely hear about “IEPs for All” in the future, if you […]
Announcing My New Website Format and Blog!
My new website covers Activism and School Curriculum and I still have the Blog. It is more manageable now. Point and clink on the title and the link should appear. The Activism site focuses on groups , organizations and people who are currently working to oppose the harmful reform taking place in our public schools. […]
Mayors Go Looking for Bill Gates’ Education Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow
US mayors went to Washington DC the other day to talk about education issues with Bill Gates—the richest man in the world. Struggling to fiscally keep their cities alive, mayors will do anything to draw in the Gates’ dollars. And you wonder why he is in charge of education in America. It’s like Leprechauns finding […]
STEM and Common Core—How Much SCIENCE are Elementary Students Really Getting?
Even though students today, in reality, sound capable to tackle STEM jobs, what about the students of tomorrow? With the heavy push for high-stakes testing, the questionable negative rhetoric by the Obama Administration and others about STEM, and the dramatic changes to the curriculum with Common Core State Standards, is this country going to wake […]
Bill Gates and Kindy Coding
The Memphis Commercial Appeal recently had an article about a private school incorporating iPad computing coding for kindergarteners. At first I was appalled. Kindergarteners? Coding? Why, they should be learning to tie their shoes! Then, after sputtering a few cuss words (nothing too bad) to myself, especially when I saw Bill Gates name and the […]
Before Common Core—IDEA and Aligning IEPs to Regular Standards
While Common Core’s focus on math and English language arts does nothing to address the needs of students with disabilities, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) re-authorizations weren’t great either. Much of IDEA (the changing of PL-94-142) was to make students with disabilities over into normalized regular ed. students. Individual Educational Plans were to […]
Drat Common Core and Potty iPads! Use This Instead to Teach a Child to Read
Don’t bank on narrow Common Core English language arts skills to teach your child to read. From what I see and hear, over and over, CC increases stress and reduces a lot of students to tears. It pushes very young children to read more difficult material before they are developmentally ready, and it focuses too […]
Homemade Activities to Target Disabilities (and/or Just for Fun)–Puzzles!
Just in time for the holidays! I have blogged about not letting the current issues in public schools steal the today that you have enjoying your children and helping them to learn. I know that is easier said than done. But the teacher and mom in me wants to step away from criticism against Common […]