Tag Archives: Lou Brown

The Good “Whys”…

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It is the New Year, and with that comes a gift in schools. I posted previously about what I call the “prime instructional real estate” that exists in schools, and suggested strategies for teachers to take advantage of this gift of time in students’ learning that exists at this point of the year.

The time of rest and relaxation that has just occurred for students, parents, and school professionals allows for a fresh start and new beginnings for all. The remaining part of the school year will increasingly become busy and harried, tests and high stakes standards will push harder towards the end of the year – but now, a naturally occurring time for enriched learning and focus exists for teachers and students alike…a true gift. It is my belief that this gift comes with choices. Continue reading →

Towards a Working IEP: Part One – Balancing the Playing Field

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A great deal of my consulting work has come about through parents of kids with disabilities inviting me to be a part of their son or daughter’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings. IEPs are the central paperwork portion of the special education services that students receive in schools, and are filled with loads of information that is used throughout a school year to meet the needs of kids with disabilities.

It has been my experience that IEPs can be beautifully written and executed. I have also experienced IEPs that are basically useless paperwork that follows a child through their school years without much meaning. The intent is for it to be the former, but that is, unfortunately in many cases, not how they are written or used. Continue reading →

Why am I here?….Why are YOU here?

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So this is my first post. Much ado about something, I hope. I have thought about many different ways of going at this first post – picking a hot topic within education, perhaps an editorial post about something that someone has written recently, or maybe writing about something that has happened lately in a student’s life that touched my heart…but there will be time for all of that to come. This post, I want to be an introduction of sorts – something that describes and explains my passion for my work…a framework for posts to follow that lets you in on my thinking. Continue reading →