Educator and media critic Neil Postman once remarked that:  ”children enter school as question marks and leave school as periods.”  In other words, kindergarteners and first graders are full of enthusiasm, raise their hands high when asked a question, and respond favorably to new learning activities, but by high school, the zip is gone and...Read More

The very first category that C.A.S.T., the Universal Design for Learning clearinghouse, describes as a way of constructing environments for variable learning is:  (1.1) ”Offer Ways of Customizing Display of Information.”  We can see the wide range of possibilities available, for example, when customizing the reading of text within Microsoft Word.  Here are 15 ways...Read More

It’s been eight years since the Common Core State Standards were unveiled and states began adopting them for use in their evaluation programs.  The firestorm of controversy which initially greeted their introduction into American education from both sides of the political aisle seems to have died down somewhat and presently the Common Core appears to...Read More

The concept of neurodiversity emerged in the 1990’s as a way for autism advocates to affirm their identity as people with neurological differences rather than as disabled individuals.  The idea has spread as other advocates (including myself) have sought to articulate the ”diversity rather than disability” message to a broader segment of the population than...Read More

The Common Core Curriculum states that ”[b]y the end of Grade 3, know from memory all products of two one-digit numbers.  The question is, how many students actually know them?  One adult scientist has noted:  ”I’m 49 years old, have a PhD in physics, and teach math and physics for a living. When I need...Read More