The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped. —Hubert H. Humphrey Every student achieving, everyone accountable. —The Seattle […]
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 […]
Courses We Once Knew: Civics Digitized, What’s Lost and the Common Core
You are not just training our nation’s future workers. You are bringing up the future citizens of the United States of America. Your students will, someday soon, collectively decide the fate of this great nation of ours. Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor (Supreme Civics, 2011) I thought today would be a good day to […]
Courses We Once Knew: The Loss of Geography in a Common Core World
How did you learn about your town, state, country, and the world? What did you learn about the cultures of the people living in those places, the physical characteristics of the land, and all the other skills necessary to understand geography? Are today’s students knowledgeable about their world? Specifically, what happened to geography? While the […]
Avoid, Conquer or Adapt to Learning Disabilities in Public Schools and Beyond
When I was in high school I played flute in the band. I did pretty well except when I took the occasional written test. I could play notes but I could not name them. It was a mystery of sorts. But it didn’t keep me from making music and the band director didn’t care. So […]
Computer Essay Grading v. Student Journals
The beauty of being an English or language arts teacher is helping students develop the skill of writing. Next to learning how to read, learning how to express your ideas through writing is a valuable form of communication. And in today’s world, being able to communicate and relate to others is more critical than ever. […]
Misusing Data in Regard to Public Schools
Data collection could be used positively and privately to lift students and teachers and create great public schools. But the fear is that data is currently misused in many ways. Data has also been used to misrepresent America’s schools. Parents have often been deceived, or data collection has been a waste of time because the […]
Common Core Marketing Mistakes Will Lead to Its Demise
Marketing is everything. A wise English professor once told me, you might write the worst book in the world, but if you have a good marketer, connections, not to mention financial backing, it will be published and it will probably sell. Common Core has been sold to the American people, backed by a lot of […]
Differentiation and Common Core—A Strange Combination for Gifted Students
In looking at different cities and their plans for gifted students, there is one thing most of them now have in common. They advocate differentiation and Common Core. The real buzz word is differentiation! Differentiation sounds soothing, like it will give every parent what they always dream of, personalized attention for their child. It advertises […]
Commiserating on How Gifted Students are Ignored by Educators, Policymakers and Those Who Should Care
A post I did almost a year ago about Common Core and gifted students has been receiving renewed activity lately. HERE. HERE is another. I wondered what was up. Why are gifted parents digging into the archives? I realized school for many has been in session for a while now and for parents, including parents […]