Special Education Today newsletter 3(41)
Special Education Today newsletter 3(41)
What in the world was published the week of 1 April 2024?
It is time for me to drop the next edition of the newsletter for Special Education Today. So, welcome! This is the 41st issue of the third volume of the newsletter, and it is something like the 908th post overall. Readers will find that it is composed of the familiar structure: notes about activity in the community, a “table of contents” (being a list of recent posts), and a little commentary at the end.
Before beginning those parts, though, I wanted to offer this photo as gratuitous eye candy. Yes, right here in Beautyville I have another photo of our backyard for your viewing pleasure (I hope).
This is the view to the east from our kitchen-dining area. I took the photo in the late afternoon of 3 April when the sunlight was on the higher elements in that view; our yard slopes down toward the creek that is east of us, so the lower features get shadows first. The brighter tree tops in the center obscure the view of Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello.
Now, I want to hasten to explain the disk of light that is visible in the dark clouds at the upper center of the photo. It is not a flying saucer. Honest. It’s the reflection of a can light in the ceiling above me, captured on the glass of the window through which I took the photo. Anyone want to predict whether a version of this photo will appear in a supermarket tabloid with a story proclaiming evidence of UFOs flying over Monticello? (If needed, I can provide a similar photo with a line of four disks; it would make sense that extraterrestrials would come as a group to visit the popular tourist spot, right?)
Activity
There were about 2800-3000 visits to the Web pages last week. Thanks to each of you who dropped by at least once last week and, especially, to those who visited Special Education Today multiple times.
Flashes of the electrons to Jane B., Jeannie KT, Larry M., Bryan W., Clay K., Kazmierz W., and Adelaide D. (and anyone whom I missed) for ticking the “like” button on posts. And here is a special tip of he cap to Jane B. and Larry M. for dropping comments, enhancing some of the posts from last week
Welcome to new subscribers: David C., Teresa B., Tar H., Todd W., Ruby O., and Christy B. It’s wonderful to have many new subscribers. If subscriptions increased at this rate for a year, SET would be pass 1000 total subscribers!
Also, I want to acknowledge Caitlyn W., Demetrius A., and (particularly) Kathy M. for establishing or upgrading their subscriptions. These generous readers help keep the boat afloat for all of us. Thanks, y’all!
List of Recent Contents
This week there were only seven posts (one was actually a note) for readers to tolerate Here is a catalog of those entries:
Special Education Today newsletter 3(40): Did you miss anything the week of 25 March?
World Autism Day 2024: What's to be learned here?
Sharon Vaughn on misunderstanding SOR: Do you want to learn something? Of course you do...
The cat is out of the bag: The EAC: Are you about to buy a pig in a poke?
She's back! E. Hansford on what's been happening in reading: Would you be surprised that Sold a Story had effects on experts, organizations, and businesses concerned with reading instruction?
The FI is here again: What does ‘Fred’ have this week?
I know that these posts are from the past. Many have already read them. If you missed posts from this list, you can obviously follow the links in the foregoing list. You also simply go to Special Education Today by John Wills Lloyd and read them there.
In addition, when you visit the Web site, you can peruse an exhaustive list of posts from the past on SET. Many of them are behind the paywall, so start a paid subscription and read all of those you find of interest.
Commentary
I hope that all (and I do mean each and every one) of the readers of the newsletter had a chance to read The cat is out of the bag: The EAC. The efforts of the Evidence Advocacy Center that I discussed in that post are especially important to me and, I think, to we who are concerned about students’ education. Although we as individuals may assiduously seek to employ evidence-based procedures, our kids (and kids, in general) need evidence-based instruction. We need to promote the efforts of the EAC. Therefore, readers can look forward to me publishing additional posts drawing on the EAC and the concepts about evidence-based instruction related to it.
Please support that effort by disseminating those posts. Please also visit the EAC and become familiar with its work (see, e.g., Doug Carnine’s “The Need for an Educational Evidence Base: An Overview of the Evidence Advocacy Center” for a good introduction). Share the EAC with decision makers whom you know—school board members, administrators, curriculum developers, teachers, coaches—and with others who can influence decisions about choosing and implementing educational practices, curricula, and policies.
While, you’re at it, of course, please look out for yourself and others, wear your seatbelts, practice good health behaviors, and teach your children well.
JohnL
John Wills Lloyd, Ph.D., editor and founder, https://SpecialEducationToday.com