Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently stepped away from his ventures to discuss his new book How Schools Work: An Inside Account of Failure and Success from One of the Nation’s Longest Serving Secretaries of Education. Few teachers were impressed with Duncan in this role. He never worked in a school. He’d never been a […]
Liking Those We Don’t Like: The Dissonance Involved with Supporting Public Schools
Most teachers see the good in everyone. They go into teaching because they care about children, and they take what happens in life personally. They are usually defiantly protective of their turf. Many years ago, I started out disliking the late Benjamin O. Canada, who was superintendent of Atlanta and one of the first school leaders […]
Dyslexia, The DeVos Vote, and a Senator’s Lost Credibility
There were several senators who I expected would change their vote on Betsy DeVos. In the end none of them did, and I think they need to called-out. Their votes for DeVos were especially unethical due to their past positions, or where they are from. I will write today about one, William Cassidy, M.D., who […]
Killing Teacher Prep During a Teacher Shortage: A Mystery? (Maybe Not)
Are you in the mood for a mystery? Education Secretary John King recently came out with the intent to kill university teacher prep programs. His predecessor Arne Duncan, who never taught a day in his life, cheered him on. They will do this by denying future teachers TEACH grants to go into teacher preparation programs. […]
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 […]
School Reformers Who Blame Public Schools for Eliminating Special Education
I see Washington Post Columnist Jay Matthews as someone who usually cheerleads for privatization of public schools. I take issue with his Sunday Washington Post article “How can a special education student fail finals yet pass? Sadly, it’s easy.” Oh help! Is this not a case of the right hand not being able to find […]
The Duncan/King Robots and the Revolving Door
Much rejoicing took place Friday when it was first announced that Arne Duncan was leaving the Obama administration early. Social media was a-buzz poking fun at the Secretary of Education who will now ride into the sunset to make money likely in the private sector, probably with something having to do with children. When you […]
U.S. DOE Continues to Force Test Failure on Children with Special Needs and ELL Students
According to information given to me by Deborah Abramson Brooks Wsm, the U.S. Dept. of Education is insisting that the New York Board of Education continue to force all students with disabilities, except for those with the severest disabilities, to take the tests matching their chronological age, not their developmental age, ignoring their cognitive disabilities. […]
Tricky Business in New York Special Ed. and Maybe Where You Live
By Monica Kennedy Kounter I am a parent of a special needs child, a certified lay advocate, and I have a Master’s of Science in Early Childhood Education. I have been fighting Common Core on the behalf of students with disabilities in New York State for a year now. I am a relative newcomer to […]
We Must Agree That We Need SPED Services—Even For High Functioning Students!
This past week has seen a flurry of special education talk surrounding the new goals of the Obama administration’s quest to toughen standards and make students—and they don’t specify which students, so we can assume they mean all students, even those with the severest of disabilities—score high on the regular tests. I’m pretty sure, behind […]