Special Education Today newsletter 5(31)
The newsletter for the week ending 1 February 2024
Here we go again! Welcome to the 31th edition of the fifth volume of the newsletter for Special Education Today. I hope it has fewer typos, grammaros, and other unforced errors than last week’s. This iteration includes…wait for it…patiently…a photo, some notes about the status of SET, a list of posts that appeared during the previous week, and some comments.
Photo
In last week’s SET newsletter, I featured a photo of the bulb stalk of a daffodil. As explained in a post from 25 January 2026, a storm covered that stalk in winter whiteness. It still is. This image doesn’t show the area where the flower spike was sticking up, but the view will provide an understanding of what it likely looks like.
I am glad to report that the more recent storm (an “historic” one) that blanketed our colleagues, friends, and neighbors in North Carolina and has made trouble in New York, Boston, and other areas to the north with winds and cold. Sorry for the folks who got slammed this time.
The remaining ice is still quite treacherous. I’ve spent hours (no exaggeration) breaking it up and clearing small paths this week. There are forecasts of above freezing temperatures for some days during the coming week. I doubt the warmer temperatures will be high enough nor last enough hours to melt all the ice, but we shall see. Qué será, será.
Flashes of the electrons
Thanks to
The patrons for SET: Kathy M., Mike G., and Anita A.
Commenters (some repeatedly) on posts this past week: Dan H., Tom Z., Jan B., Susan O., and Em D.
Welcome to several new free subscribers. You have joined over 1100 others who subscribe to SET. You might be among the ~20% of subscribers who come from countries other than the US. Your views of posts will be among about 900 views per day (average over the past 30 days).
Just in case it’s helpful, here’s a link to share this post!
This week’s spedlets
Well, I posted 10 articles SET proper since the last newsletter. I hope that readers found them informative and maybe even inspiring. Here is a listing of them (I authored all of them, so there no notation about other contributors) separated by whether the posts were available to paid subscribers or to everyone.
Regular posts
Special Education Today newsletter 5(30): What happened in SET Land the week of 19 January 2026?
Children with disabilities amidst political unrest: Do situations such as have been occurring in Minneapolis affect our kids?
Senators examining students progress measurement: What do these US legislators want to know?
Old Andrew reposted an insightful article: What is in his irreverent—cheeky, maybe?—post about innovation in education?
US government prevents father from seeing his disabled son: What is the news about Wael and Maher Tarabishi?
PBS report on US funding for adult day care: Will Medicaid cuts land on community-based programs?
Park developments: Misc notes 2026: What is happening in the area of accessible play spaces?
For the faithful
It’s a little icy: Being just a test of whether my French press pot can stand on its own bottom
UK report: temporary housing’s effects on children: What harms do neurodivergent children suffer from “temporary accommodation?”
Commentary
Amidst our concern about the effects of political unrest on children with disabilities (26 January 2026), I can’t help but think about the situation for children with disabilities in actual war zones around Earth. I imagine that life in a war zone is horrible, and the horridness of it must be heightened for individuals with disabilities. Will a child with a disability be able to leave a risky location with little notice. Will the parents of a child with a disability have to take extra precautions? Won’t a child with inherently high levels of anxiety be risk for additional or more substantial problems?
What is happening to children with disabilities in Ukraine? Gaza? Sudan? Myanmar?
There are people who are alert to the problem, and they are taking at least some actions. Organizations are studying and promoting actions. I have seen reports about activities by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child’s Working Group on Children with Disabilities, the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies, and diplomats from Ukraine and UNICEF. Some of these are little more than “study the problems” or “implement existing protections.”
Might any activities short of stopping wars be helpful? I do not know of evidence about which efforts might actually be beneficial. Do some among SET’s readers have evidence? If so, please share! Learning more about concrete actions and beneficial outcomes would reduce my feelings of frustration, impotence, and sadness.
Those feelings lessen my joy in having continuing connections with this community. I am very thankful for you. I get great feelings from knowing that you are “out there” seeking benefits for our kids. So, please take care of yourselves and colleagues, family and friends. And, of course, teach those kids well.
JohnL
SET Editor guy
Founder & Editor, Special Education Today
Please remember that SET should not be confused with a product with the same name that is published by the Council for Exceptional Children. SET predated CEC’s publication by decades (see “Lovitt’s Lines” for examples from those days). Despite my appreciation for CEC, this product is not designed to promote that organization. I’m not selling anything here other than what you read in the posts.