Special Education Today Newsletter 1(31)
What happened here this second week of 2022?
Well, this newsletter was scheduled to be mailed 5 AM Monday the 17th, but I apparently misset a button, so it was not sent. I’m reposting it now (7:20 AM EST 2022-01-18). Sorry!—JohnL
Welcome to the 2022-01-17 issue of the newsletter for Special Education Today. As I mentioned last week, I remember when “turning 30” was a milestone in life. This week is like turning 31, though I’m just a couple of weeks short of turning 74, myself!
In 1978-79-80, I was an assistant professor at the University of Virginia. I was writing articles about teaching children strategies for solving problems and contributing to work with Dan Hallahan on efforts to study and promote self-monitoring.
With these notes drafted more than 40 years later...well, with this issue, SET turns (1)31 issues...probably won’t make 40(1), but let me keep it rolling!
The organization for this issue of the newsletter will be familiar if you’ve seen a couple of previous issues. (If readers have recommendations about changing the format, please post them in the comments.) You will find (a) a few house-keeping notes, (b) a listing of the recent posts, and (c) a some gratuitous commentary.
Subscribers’ Interactions
After the loss of about 5 subscribers over the winter holidays, SET is recovering. There were almost 10 new free subscriptions in the past week (welcome, y’all). One of the heartening things about new subscribers is that fewer of them come from my academic circle...not that I don’t love my academic pals, but I hope to achieve greater reach by providing content that practicing special educators and parents find valuable. So, please keep passing along word about SET to parents, teachers, and administrators.
Hat-tips!
Thanks to readers who corresponded, posted comments, and ticked the “like” button.
Tina C., Rhonda B, and Ed M. (who are among the “The Usual Suspects”) have volunteered for interrogation the last few weeks. They are wonderful friends and thoughtful advisors...keep an eye out for their contributions. And don’t forget Jane B., Carrie C., and others who show up to read and remark on the SET pages. Thank you!
Thanks, too, to family, friends, colleagues, and everyone else who has connected via Twitter. Although I bailed on many media about 8-10 years ago, I didn’t delete my Twitter account. So, although you will not find an account for me on FB, LI, IG, TT, and etc., there is one on TW. In fact, there are at least two that will connect you with me: @johnwillslloyd & @SpecialEdToday. Please check them out and, of course, follow and retweet, etc.
The Past Week
Since the 10 January 2022 newsletter, regular readers have seen six new posts:
Epidemiological examination of children’s mental health in COVID times—What can some well-informed scientists tell us about this topic? https://www.specialeducationtoday.com/p/epidemological-examination-of-childrens
Podcasts of probable interest—Do you want to hear interviews with prominent advocates?
ASAT newsletter!—Do you want to learn the latest scientific evidence about autism? https://www.specialeducationtoday.com/p/asat-newsletter
Friday photos—13—Who wants to prepare special educators with the Cooks? https://www.specialeducationtoday.com/p/friday-photos13
Dear John: Letters from Angela—10—What became of Angela over the years? https://www.specialeducationtoday.com/p/dear-john-letters-from-angela10
SPED—What’s in a word? https://www.specialeducationtoday.com/p/sped
So, that’s the news, all the news for this week. Pretty wan, no? More coming!
Commentary
As I write this 16 January 2022, we in Beautyville are getting another winter-weather shellacking. We had one a few days ago and then a “remember that” event more recently.
Today, there has been sneaux for hours, and it’ll probably amount to 5-6 inches (more in the mountains, where my friend Jim lives). The bad news, in my view, is that there is ice falling (sleet, freezing rain) on top of the snow. The good news is that the ice didn’t fall before the snow, which would have laid down a skating rink under the snow.
So, it’s likely that my neighborhood will have something like a big problem tonight and tomorrow. It may make US news.
I mention this because I know that many readers get much more severe weather conditions than we do here in my neighborhood. Chicago. Saskatchewan. Toronto. Buffalo. Yakutsk. Even southern hemisphere situations! And this catalog says nothing about other harsh weather (e.g., monsoon, typhon...). How would a locality that’s unaccustomed to hurricanes adapt to a big one?
I used to receive correspondence from others who lived in very snowy-icy places who were astounded at the disruption that storms caused in my neighborhood. I was glad that their governments were accustomed to preparing for storms and had planned (e.g., had plows and drivers) for those disruptions.
What the heck is the connection to special education here? Allow me, please to say it simply, and I apologize if it seems patronizing: School systems should prepare for providing services for kids with disabilities.
If our schools are not prepared to provide educational services (legally required services) for students with disabilities, the consequences will seem catastrophic. Local education agencies may encounter substantial financial costs so that they can provide services for children who need something more than “inclusion.” Associated law suits may blacken the eyes of the local education agencies.
So all of us who wish our governments should prepare for extreme weather events should, please, encourage our governments to provide preventative and supportive services for our neighborhood’s kids with disabilities.
Now, remember that this argument has a special concern. I have an intrinsic interest here: I want readers to stay safe, take care of each other, and teach your children well.
JohnL