As a teacher I’m not a big fan of homework. I know its a big, bold statement but I remember all the times when my teachers gave me useless homework assignments. The job of the assignment was to keep me busy, not to get me thinking. The Weekly Thought this week had to do with [...]
Learning Styles
You sent in your request. Your kiddo’s been assessed. You’ve done all that you can do, and now you’re sitting and waiting for the IEP meeting. Most parents don’t know that there’s something else you can do before you walk into that meeting. Did you know you can request the results from the assessments five [...]
You worked on building a relationship with your kid’s teacher, and they’re still having problems at school. Maybe they’re behavioral, maybe academic, but it just feels off. You’ve met with the teacher, maybe the principal, and they’re not giving you clear steps or a plan that they’re putting in place to help your kid. You’re [...]
Isn’t it kind of nuts how you notice that the older you get, the more you feel like you’re turning into your mom? I don’t feel like we’re alike, but whenever we’re somewhere and someone new meets us, they’re always, like, “You guys could be twins!” It’s not because we look that much alike, it’s [...]
Jennifer Bollero is Tandem Teaching’s new favorite find. In her own words, she is “an attorney, arbitrator, mediator and loving mother of an autistic daughter.” Her beautiful article, 8 steps to Better IEP Meetings: Play Hearts, Not Poker, has more tips and sound advice than you can find in many books heralded by leading educational [...]
“I’m not special ed, and I’m not going to that stupid classroom anymore. I’m going to be in the regular classroom just like any one else,” screamed my brand spanking new student. I was taken back both by her confidence and her small size. I was even more surprised because this was open house. I’d [...]
I met with a mother a few days ago to discuss how her daughter was progressing. Her daughter had been “diagnosed” with ADHD and an auditory processing disorder. Her previous school was making weekly (sometimes daily!) phone calls to report on the “problem child.” That mother seemed to be carrying the weight of the world [...]
When I was growing up, I wasn’t good at any of three R’s. I was slow to read. My writing was atrocious and my arithmetic even worse. I never got high marks or recognition for any of the core academic areas. I just wasn’t smart like that. What I was good at was being kind [...]
The emails and phone calls I received from clients and friends after last week’s post inspired me. Many of you were worried about the fact that sometimes children over-associate with them, and assume their challenges are the same as the ones they see their parents struggle with. Throughout my years of teaching, I’ve begun to [...]
