Search

By the 171st day of school, even a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher like me is pretty sure I am immune to being moved or motivated in any sort of way. I am mechanically and somewhat maniacally moving toward the soul nurturing, patience restoring and creativity refueling station we know as “summer vacation.” My fuse is short. I have an overwhelming need for order, structure and control in the classroom. Final exams, deadlines for grades and year-end papers are due.

Adults often marvel as they watch children frolic on the playground centers. Children’s interactions appear effortless. There seem to be no barriers, no ego or self-doubt. If you want to play with someone, you simply ask him or her. It looks so uncomplicated. If a child is willing and able to partake in the fun, then there are bad guys to vanquish, princesses to be rescued and treasures to be found. A child’s imagination is the only thing placing limits on the exploration.

Yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision could transform the lives of millions of children with disabilities. So why aren’t we talking about it?

The needs of limited English proficiency students put special education assessment to the test.

Jackie Brown prided herself on teaching her students about disabilities. But could she confront her own feelings about her mother and polio?

A Louisiana Children's Museum exhibit takes the "dis" out of disability.

Giving Gen Ed teachers the tools to realize the potential of inclusive classrooms.

This teacher was worried about explaining her crutches to her class, but the third-graders taught her a lesson in acceptance.

On the rare occasion that I spend time with people who are not educators, it’s inevitable that someone will drop the word “retarded.” The “R-word” has been used colloquially for decades to describe and degrade anyone or anything out of the ordinary, inferior, or somehow slow. I can still hear the snickers from my own classmates back in 10th-grade health class when we read the words “fire retardant” in our textbook.