Bernie fever is sweeping the Internet. I like Sen. Sanders. He says a lot of things that make me want to jump up and shout YES! You Go Bernie! But I, like many others, am still listening for the specifics when it comes to education and public schools. On the issue of K-12 education he […]
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. […]
Using African Americans to Condemn Special Education: The Mixed-Up Message
For a long time special educators and the general public have heard that special education is racist. The story from the school reformers goes something like this: African American students are thrown into segregated special education classes because teachers don’t know how to teach, or they don’t have “high expectations.” If teachers request a special […]
Students and Bears, Oh My! How Common Core Discards the Importance of Reasoning and Intuition
This post is about reasoning and intuition with students and bears, and what we have lost by focusing on Common Core State Standards and not the students themselves. There are interesting similarities. Let me start with bears. I just returned from visiting Glacier National Park. Glacier is full of bears—both grizzlies and black bears. So, […]
The Charter School Miracle that Isn’t—Special Education in NOLA
It’s segregating kids with disabilities, and letting the charter schools off the hook. —Parent advocate Karran Harper Royal The changes happening to schools in New Orleans—the conversion from public to private—has sadly become a prototype for schools across the country. All parents, teachers and taxpayers should be concerned. While charter advocates see charters as miracles, […]
Serving Moms of Students with Special Needs in Public Schools
This Mother’s Day I thought I’d direct my attention to moms who have students with special needs, and ask, “How could public schools do a better job of helping them out?” Of course this relates to dads too, but usually moms are more on the front line and it is their day! Education Secretary Arne […]
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 […]
The End of the Road for PUBLIC SCHOOL Teachers? I Don’t Think So!
Is it the end of the road for public school teachers? It seems like a bad sign when a respected teacher wins an award for teaching, and during a conversation afterwards on CNN, tells young people to go into teaching only if they enter the private sector. Last week Main teacher Nancie Atwell became the […]
Special Education Vouchers Likened to “Puppy Mills”
Mississippi Rep. Cecil Brown (D-Jackson) said, in reference to vouchers for students with disabilities, “You are getting ready to open the equivalent of puppy mills for children.” Brown expressed concern that parents would be scammed and would lose out on services for their children. Mississippi politicians are trying to pass a voucher bill for students […]
Labels in Special Education and The Futures of Children
To the children of our nation whose hope lies in our caring and whose futures are our trust. — Nicholas Hobbs. Labels in special education have always been controversial. No one likes to pin a label on a child. But in order for children to get necessary services, an IEP, or a 504 plan, parents […]