Here are some observations of Betsy DeVos and her Rethink Schools tour. Autism in Douglas County One of the schools she visited was the Firefly Autism House the private school which received attention in the landmark Supreme Court case Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District. Parents received funding to place their child at Firefly […]
Dedicated to Moms Who Complain
Happy Mother’s Day! Sometimes moms who make complaints are looked down upon—given the eye roll by certain school officials. But with today’s school reforms, complaints can change a child’s schooling and even provide needed support for teachers and schools. Today, I pay tribute to a mom, Yadira Calderon, who recognized that, in her child’s case, […]
A Pompous, Demoralizing Letter for Teachers, Students, and Parents
One of the old education reformers is Chester E. Finn, Jr. of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. He referred to himself as aging–not me. But he is old, and my point with this is that the push to destroy public schools, as we know them, started a long time ago. Finn just wrote a letter […]
Education Mirages and Presidential Politics—Hillary Clinton
Presidential politics and education—it’s like crawling through the desert. You see the same old landscape, and then, out in the distance you see real teacher support and quality schooling! And you hear “I will make public schools great again!” We are bombarded with statements that sound supportive of public schools and teachers, parents, and students, […]
Storm Clouds Over Hillary Clinton’s Education Agenda
Hillary Clinton gets positive points for speaking out about autism and mental health. She mentions student transition from high school to young adulthood where there exists a worrisome gap. There is more she proposes here. Mrs. Clinton also brought up the sensitive topic of seclusion and restraints involving students with serious disabilities. We need that […]
The Republican Debate: Did YOU Hear Education Mentioned?
I did not remain glued to the screen when the debate was on last night, so when I stepped away, maybe it was then that they mentioned education and public schools. I must have missed it. Yes. I’m sure that was it. My guess is that they thoroughly discussed, at some point, the backbone of […]
Dueling Disabilities and the Hijacking of Special Education Services
Senate education committee members recently argued about an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, put forward by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La. The amendment was to provide teachers with training to work with students with dyslexia. It turned into a dispute between parent groups and policymakers. No one seemed to realize that special education […]
How Backward Reforms Waste Time and Hurt Students with Special Needs
We should be beyond this in America. Every school district should be providing parents public access to top notch regulated education services, including utilizing cutting-edge research for all students, and especially for students with disabilities and/or our gifted and talented young people. Right now many teachers and parents are fighting to get decent services from […]
Special Ed. Labels—Why We Still Need Them in the Era of Common Core
Work hard at living the idea that differentness is just fine—not bad. Your child will learn most from your example. Help him to think of problems as things that can be solved if people work at them together. ~Nicholas Hobbs from The Futures of Children (p.288) Years ago a poster circulated that said “Labels are […]
Common Core State Standards and Students with Autism—The Shoe Doesn’t Fit
Let me say up front, that I don’t think Common Core State Standards are shoes that fit any child, but the standards are especially insidious for students with disabilities, who were promised something different with the original Public Law 94-142. Recently I read an article in Teaching Exceptional Children from a year ago. It was entitled, “Meeting […]