Imagine that Leonardo da Vinci was a child growing up in contemporary times and school authorities had to determine whether or not he should receive an IEP (Individual Education Plan).  Here’s what it might look like. Principal:  ”Okay, I think we’re ready to start.  Who wants to get the ball rolling?”‘ School Psychologist:  ”Well, I ran...Read More

‘’Imagine with me for a moment that everyone in the world has been suddenly transformed into a flower.  Some of us are petunias, some are begonias, others of us are tulips, and some are daisies.  Now, I want you to imagine that in this culture of flowers, the psychiatrists are the roses. Let’s take a...Read More

Lately, there’s been a resurgence in the ”reading wars,” which is the term used to describe the dispute between supporters of a ”phonics” or ”phonemic awareness” method for teaching reading and those who instead promote a ”whole language” approach.  This war has been going on ever since 1955 when Rudolf Flesch wrote the best-selling book...Read More

I just read a very interesting article from EdSurge, an educational technology information online resource that focuses on the benefits of coding, describing how kids who have difficulty in other subjects can sometimes find hidden strengths in their ability to work with code.  The author Kimberly Rues, writes: ”In every classroom where I’ve given kids...Read More

Once a student has learned to decode (e.g. read the actual printed words on the page or screen), then reading teachers (and remedial teachers) launch into an enterprise called ”reading comprehension.” Taken at face value, this really just means being able to understand what you are reading.  There are rare cases of individuals who are...Read More