Recent news and commentary on education and schooling

Florida Teacher Starts Each Day Complimenting Students One by One

Genevieve. Shaw Brown, ABC News (US), 17th November 2015

... in Chris Ulmer's classroom, the day starts off with 10 minutes of compliments ... (he) takes the time to pay several compliments to each and every one of the eight students in his special education classroom ...

Imagining more for all students

Emma Macdonald, Canberra Times, 18th November 2015

Jan Kruger has four children with unique personalities, needs and desires. That her youngest son, Jack, has a disability does not mean he should have less access to education, social and employment opportunities than his siblings ...

Let’s Get Rid of Special Education [Opinion]
Tim Villegas, Noodle.com 3rd November 2015
Why would someone have a problem with students with disabilities being educated side by side with their non-disabled peers? For those of us who are involved in special education, or those who have observed student learning, it is easy to see that inclusive classrooms work. For almost everyone else, it appears to be a near-impossible concept to grasp ...

At Springfield’s AIC, higher ed and higher hopes

Boston Globe, 20th November 2015

On a brilliant and blustery October morning, American International College student Aidan O’Donoghue was enjoying a quintessential freshman experience. In the dining commons, he gobbled down a salad, a glass of chocolate milk, and two cookies. He made a new friend, a fellow freshman, and invited him to play Ping-Pong.

Not long ago, the simple pleasures of campus life would have been out of reach for O’Donoghue, 19, because he has Down syndrome ...