Special Education Today Newsletter 2(29)

What appeared on SET for the week ending 18 December 2022?

Here, just in time for the holiday season, is issue 25 of volume 2 of the weekly newsletter for Special Education Today. Regular readers will find the contents familiar. There is (a) a status report, (b) some notes of appreciation to readers, (c) a table listing the posts that appeared over the past week, and (d) a little commentary.

Please feel free to read it all on the Web at https://www.specialeducationtoday.com.

Status update

This past week, SET lost three and gained six subscribers subscribers. Six! Now, if it can only grow by, say, 100 per week, SET would be on its way!

Thanks to everyone who has shared, forwarded talked about, and otherwise promoted SET with your friends and fellow administrators, teachers, parents, and others.

All readers can see posts available for free (e.g., this newsletter). They will also see some posts that only show the first few paragraphs before displaying a paywall. Many posts in the archive are only accessible to paying subscribers. Paid subscribers will see everything immediately. Although free subscribers get to comment on some posts, paid subscribers get to comment on all posts.

You, dear subscribers, are almost certainly the reason for growth. I don’t think people new to SET just found it rolled up and stuffed inside a plastic bag, lying on their driveway. To the extent that you share SET posts and recommend SET to colleagues, you help boost the base. Thanks!

Recognition (AKA: Flashes of the electrons)

Leading with the commenters, and there were many this week: Thanks to Michael G., Joel M., Jimmy the K., Betsy T., Karen A., Larry M., and Mary-Anne L., all of whom commented over the last seven days. Some of them commented more than once, too! Create a paying subscription to ensure you can add your own comments.

• Thanks for the “likes” this past week from Mary-Anne L., Dan H., Tina C., Joel M., and Clay K.; they clicked the heart button on one or more posts this past week. Thanks! And, please note, oh faithful readers, that one doesn’t have to be a paid subscriber to drop a like (though many of the regular likers have paid subs). It’s great for me to know which posts resonate with folks and thanks for letting other readers know what you consider valuable. Keep on liking!

• Thanks to all y’all who have followed @specialedtoday (and @spedpro and @JohnWillsLloyd, too) over on Twitter. A special flash of the electrons to Betsy T., who often mentions SET on Twitter. Please help SET by retweeting those notices and posting your own tweets about content.

Table of contents

Last week, I posted seven messages to the Web site, one of which was last week’s newsletter. Often, I push several of the posts to subscribers via the email list. Readers can see all of them by visiting the site regularly.

The week’s content for SET included the following posts. I hope readers found them interesting and useful.

1. Special Education Today Newsletter 2(24)—Did you miss the week’s news and info for 12 December 2022?

2. The helpful effects of phones, tablets, and maybe even fidget bits for young children—not—What can we learn from a study about giving toddlers mobile devices to help them calm down?

3. “In a Different Key”—What’s to be learned from a mainstream TV documentary about autism?

4. Manuscript, cursive, keyboard...or whatever?—What does John McWhorter say?

5. Parents of students with disabilities settle lawsuit with Virginia Governor over masking—Should medically vulnerable children be barred from requesting that peers wear masks?

6. Child with autism sings out—Why was the video an Internet sensation?

7. A view of efforts to support children with disabilities in ways that are respectful of their cultural backgrounds—What’s the view from the perspective of someone helping to lead change?

Make sure you go to the Web site to see the most current content. New posts will drop throughout the coming week. You’ll find a Web-styled version of this newsletter as well as any newer posts.

Commentary

Colder temperatures finally descended on central Virginia. I wore long pants several times this past week! Now, please understand that “colder” is a comparative; that the local temperatures were below 0 degrees Celcius (i.e., cold enough for the water in the birdbaths to freeze), this is not the bone-chilling cold I remember from northern Illinois winters. I have certainly not had to break out the down jacket—of course, I’ve only used it a coupla-few times in the 44 years we’ve lived C’ville. I have, however, had to wear a watch cap on some of my morning walks this past week.

One concession to the season is that I’ve grown what my pal Ray calls “a winter beard.” It’s pretty ill-kempt in this photo...well the entire head looks like I could use a good barbering! In fact, I went a got a professional cut and trim this past week. My barber, Sonny, took me at 6:00 AM! When he gets me in his chair, he does a much better job than I do on the lower porch with my home clippers.

Frightening! A winter 2022 self-portrait, by John Wills Lloyd.

With the colder weather comes the onset of the holiday season. Winter’s the season for Kwanza, Hanukkah, Diwali, Ramadan, and (of course) Christmas! Although Christmas has a fixed date, other winter holidays (e.g., Ramadan and Diwali) vary according to lunar calendars. For all the readers who celebrate any of these holidays (or others I didn’t list or do not even have on my calendar), I hope celebratroy events are sources of joy, pleasure, peace, and love.

The next issue of the SET Newsletter will be abbreviated, as I shall pretend to be a slacker for the coming week. But, as usual, I recommend that you wear your seatbelts, be considerate of others by wearing masks in situations that put yourself or others at risk, extend holiday greetings to friends and neighbors, take time to gather (safely) with loved ones, and teach our children well.

JohnL

SET Editor guy

Charlottesville

SET should not be confused with a product with the product that uses the same name and is published by the Council for Exceptional Children. SET predated CEC’s publication by decades. Despite my appreciation for CEC, this product is not designed to promote that organization.