Special Education Today newsletter 6(5)
How about a compilation of what occurred in the SET community during the week beginning 24 July 2026?
It is Monday, yet again, so here you have the weekly newsletter for Special Education Today. It covers—as regular Dear Readers1 know—the week that began 24 July 2026 and it will have the usual sections: Photo, Updates, Spedlettes links, and (maybe?) Comments.
As I was writing the foregoing introductory paragraphs, I had a couple of thoughts that I shall pause and share:
Theoretically, there’s got to be a limited number of ways I can write that same content over and over, again and again. I know some linguists among us might argue that there are infinite ways to do it, because of variations in the syntax and vocabulary. So, be it. Still I fear being repetitious.
I wonder what we would get if I gave an AI bot the direction to write an SET newsletter. This is not a product of AI, rest assured…but asking one of those bots to draft a newsletter does sound like an informative test. Would it follow the usual structure? Would the intro paragraph seem familiar?
Photo
Until this immediately past weekend, central Virginia has been in drought. Rains this weekend dampened (teehee) the drought’s strength, but according to Drought.gov, the local area is considered to be in “extreme drought.” Check the map for the conditions in Virginia.
Pat has been quite parsimonious about watering the flora in our yard. We have no lawn, no built-in sprinkler systems, and mostly distribute water captured in barrels at the base of downspouts carrying water that falls on the roof of the house and garage. She has sustained the potted plants with early morning or evening watering from a pitcher she carries outside from the kitchen.
Here is a photo of one of those plants that she has sustained. Given the fairly substantial rain Saturday night and Sunday, this little pot should be doing well for a couple of days on its own.
I didn’t get a great photo…should have done better with the depth of field. Sigh. Still, the flowers are right pretty, don’t you agree? And, thanks, Pat.
Updates
Welcome to Judith H. and Sam B. who plunked down payments this past week. They join Ed P., Clay K., Joel M., Dan H., Christine T., Mike N., Linda L., Angelique W., Larry M., Ed M., Hill W., Michele M., Kristin S., Mary-Anne L., Pam S. (both of you), and others who support SET.
And, let me remember to note that Anita A., Kathy M., and Mike G. are patron-level supporters. They deserve a thanks for all of us. Cheers to them!
Note to all folks on free subscriptions: SET year-long subscriptions are on sale for the month of August 2026. New paid subs for a year are available at a 25% discount. Just follow this link for the August 2026 Special. Secure a paid subscription and you’ll be able to read any and all of the ~1750 posts in the archives as well as the authority to contribute to discussions with the other members of the community.
The overall subscriber base for SET includes greater than 1250 people. Slightly greater than 20% of those subscribers are from the US. As the following map indicates, five states in the US (Virginia New York, California, Texas, and North Carolina) are home to over a third of those subscribers.2 So far, Montana and the two Dakotas have zero subscribers.
Over the past month, since SET came back from summer break, pages on the site have been viewed about 800+ times per day. On five days there have been greater than 1000 views.
Spedlettes
That traffic on the site comes to see the recent posts, primarily. There were a dozen articles posted this past week. Paula and I co-authored one of them, but I am culpable for all the others.
Here’s a list of the spedlettes for the past week. You can review the list and click through to any that you missed or might want to review.
Special Education Today newsletter 6(4): These are the updates for the week that began 23 July 2026
Division for Emotional & Behavioral Health slates Webinar series on classroom management: Want to know about this professional development opportunity?
US Senate committee hearing on legislation relevant to special education: What is the legislation that will be managed on 30 July 2026?
Hearing is today!: You do remember, right?
Senate committee hearing of 30 July 2026 on special education: What happened in these hearings?
Friday catch-up notes—31 July 2026: What about stories that didn’t show up as a full post this week?
Science of reading and structured literacy: What do Odegard, Gierka, and Lyon have to say about the meaning ofd these terms?
International conference: “Listen to me! Children’s Voices and Agency”: How about attending the International Conference on Child Studies in October 2026?
ICYMI: G. R. Lyon and D. Carnine on professionalizing teacher preparation: What do they see as the fundamental impediment thwarting process in the reading crisis?
SET years ago #001: August 2021: What was happening on SET years ago?
Not eating broccoli, spinach, sprouts, seed cakes...: Why don’t educators eat their vegetables?
Here’s the obligatory reminder: Folks, regardless of subscriber status, can find a full catalog of posts on the Web site for Special Education Today.
Comments
I have been writing and editing a group of longer posts that focus on instruction. Our kids need the best instruction that we can provide. They don’t have time to waste with diddly-daddly-duddly teaching, of course. So, this cluster of SET articles will examine how to design and deliver effective teaching.
In the past couple of years, I have seen a lot of instances of educators, education experts, and education critics writing about effective instruction. Among the most frequent topics in those instances has been “the science of [this or that].” Often that science has referred to constructs from education adjacent disciplines, particularly psychology and especially cognitive psychology. As I’ve noted previously, I admire the research in psychology, including cognitive psychology, but I fear we educators are at risk of jumping onto a train or bandwagon and going somewhere we shouldn’t go when we (warning: mixing of metaphors ahead) embrace this “science.”
So, I have drafts of articles about the research we need for guiding instruction, the bases of some concepts (e.g., attention, memory) from our friends in psychology, comparisons of curricula, process-product research, practice, mastery, and a super-simplified model of teaching. If that sounds like a jumble, it is. I’m feeling like it is an inchoate, amoeba-like, mass. There are so many connections among the ideas that I’m having a hard time chopping it into bite-sized pieces. I’m hoping, however, to begin rolling out posts in the coming weeks.
On another note, thanks to all you who have sent kind and encouraging words to me about my recovery from the hip replacement surgery. Things are coming along pretty well. I almost exclusively use a cane now; rarely am I supporting myself with a walker. I can manage stairs going step-over-step ascending (descending is still one-at-a-time). Although I am still quite stiff, the pain’s pretty much gone. I have to be a good (i.e., compliant and faithful) patient of the physical therapy I’m receiving (now as an out patient) so that I can regain mobility, balance, flexibility, and such.
Meanwhile, please remember to take care of yourself. Do right by your loved ones and friends—and even those people whom you only see once or twice in your village. Eat healthily (broccoli!) and exercise. Of course, make sure that our kids get the teaching that they deserve.
Peace,
JohnL
John Wills Lloyd, Ph.D.
UVA Professor Emeritus
Founder & Editor, https://www.SpecialEducationToday.com/
SET should not be confused with a product that uses essentially the same name and is published by the Council for Exceptional Children. SET predated CEC’s publication by decades; I wonder if CEC put “today” in all capitals to distinguish its product from SET. Despite my appreciation for CEC, this product is not designed to promote that organization nor should the views expressed here be considered to represent the views or policies of that organization. A membership in CEC does not get one a subscription to SET and vice versa!
Footnotes
Probably lots of irregular readers, Dear or not-so-dear, also know what it covers. Regardless, I do like to think of those folks who frequent the community as Dear readers.
If I include Washington, Illinois, and Florida, the eight states account for nearly 50% of the subs.