Thankful Thursday

Today as everyone settles down for football and turkey I am thankful for/that:

1. The girls are still small enough to walk on my back when I need it.
2. Homes stuffed to the gills with family.
3. The creative planning that goes into keeping five kids engaged, happy and productive. They've made two desserts and some Christmas decorations so far today.
4. Loved ones who are apart from us for a little while.
5. Music.
6. Not just enough but abundance.
7. Laughter.
8. Love that covers all things.

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

1. "Can I help you with your laundry?" That just about made my week.
2. Progress.
3. More blessings than I know even if it doesn't always feel like it.

What are you thankful for?

Newsflash! Teachers need to be better trained!

This is being reported as if it is some new revelation, Teacher training should emphasize the practical, panel urges.

Programs that train teachers need to be radically revised, according to a panel composed of some of the country's top educators, and eight states, including Maryland, have signed on to adopt the recommendations, scheduled to be released Tuesday.

Teachers are poorly prepared to meet students' educational needs upon reaching the classroom. That's not necessarily a reflection on the teachers as I've known many who desperately want to help their students but are painfully aware that they weren't properly prepared to do so and are not going to get the support they need from their school district hierarchy. Were I a teacher, or a leader in a teacher's union, I'd be demanding that schools and other organizations that claim to train teachers actually teach them how to teach. The article above mentions that Teach for America, a program that recruits individuals to teach in problem schools, sends them on their way with five weeks of training. Five. Whole. Weeks. To then teach in problem schools. What could possibly go wrong?

Being the parent of children with special needs my issue is the complete lack of training for teachers in recognizing and dealing with the host of educational challenges that the learning disabled students in their classrooms face. A good deal of the grief that students face in the classroom comes from their teachers not having a clue about what challenges the students face and the teachers not knowing what they can do to help their students overcome those challenges. Ask any regular classroom teacher and the honest ones will regularly admit that this is so. Most want to help their students but they were never trained in how to do so.

My solution is simple, make that teaching degree actually mean something. Train anyone who is going to be in a classroom how to recognize students struggling with a learning disability. Train them to ask, is this kid acting up because he/she is just a bad-ass kid or because or because they're trying to compensate for some other issue? Train them in educational strategies that can help typical and learning disabled students alike thrive. Teach them what kinds of learning disabilities are out there that will turn up in their classrooms.

For the penny-pinchers among you who are ready to start howling about how much it is going to cost cash strapped governments it doesn't have to cost the government one red cent. Simply put it out there, if you want to teach in our schools you need to know how to handle students with learning disabilities in your classroom. If you want to keep teaching in our schools this is what you need to know about learning disabilities. If entities training people to be teachers want to stay in business they will need to revamp their curricula to meet these standards. Those teachers who care about their students will step up and the rest can hit the road freeing up resources to provide a better education for students.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for/that:

1. The men and women who serve in America's armed forces.
2. The families of said men and women who must do without them while they serve.
3. The opportunity to be an American.

What are you thankful for?

NY SPEECH THERAPY STANDARD THREATENED

This came across my inbox today and I thought I would share it. We have in the past had problems with the district doing what is required on our sons' IEPs. As in it says speech 5 times a week but the speech therapist only works 4 days a week. That so did work for us. From my experience and from talking with other parents of children with various disabilities schools are already fairly lax in adhering to what is in a student's IEP. Can't folk fall down on the job on this one. Here's the text of the email.

NY SPEECH THERAPY STANDARD THREATENED

More Info
GET BACK ON THE PHONES TODAY!


If you want to make sure your child continues to get speech therapy at school you need to get on the phone. The New York Regents, the statewide board that sets school policy, is attempting yet again to reduce the minimum educational standards for students with autism. They want to make integrated classrooms bigger, and to eliminate the minimum speech therapy standards for students with autism.

This is what they want to do (in their own words):


* repealing the minimum service delivery requirements for speech and language;
* authorizing school districts to add up to two additional students to integrated co-teaching classes; and
* repealing the requirement that each student with autism receive instructional services to meet his/her individual language needs at a minimum of 30 minutes daily in groups not to exceed two, or 60 minutes daily in groups not to exceed six.


A hearing will be held on November 14th to adopt these really awful ideas.

And they are quite open about the reasons they want to do this: to save money. Reduce the basic educational services for some of the most vulnerable people in the state to save a few dollars. But the regents haven’t even bothered to quantify how much would be saved.

We have basically one week to inundate them with phone calls, faxes, letters and email. We are going to start today with phone calls today.

Pleas forward this to friends, family, your child’s teachers and therapists, everybody you can think of who will help us. And please post this to Face Book and other social networks.

Everybody regardless of where you live in the state call Commissioner Steiner, Chancellor Tisch and Vice Chancellor Cofield. And call the Regent who represents your county, Numbers and lists of counties are below.

Four phone calls today is what you must do if you want to keep your child’s right to speech therapy intact.



David Steiner, Commissioner
New York State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12234
(518) 474-3852


Merryl H. Tisch, Chancellor
9 East 79th Street
N.Y., N.Y. 10075
Phone (212) 879-9414
RegentTisch@mail.nysed.gov

Milton L. Cofield, Vice Chancellor
Judicial District VII - Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Yates
98 Hickory Ridge Road
Rochester, N.Y. 14625
Phone (585) 200-6284
RegentCofield@mail.nysed.gov

Robert M. Bennett, Chancellor Emeritus
Judicial District VIII -- Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming
201 Millwood Lane
Tonawanda, NY 14150
Phone: (716) 645-1344
RegentBennett@mail.nysed.gov

James C. Dawson
Judicial District IV -- Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, Washington
166 U.S. Oval
Plattsburgh, NY 12903
(518) 324-2401
RegentDawson@mail.nysed.gov

Anthony S. Bottar
Judicial District V -- Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego
120 Madison Street, Suite 1600, AXA Tower II
Syracuse, NY 13202
(315) 422-3466
RegentBottar@mail.nysed.gov

Geraldine D. Chapey
Judicial District XI -- Queens
107-10 Shore Front Parkway, Apt. 9C
Belle Harbor, NY 11694
Phone: (718) 634-8471
RegentChapey@mail.nysed.gov

Harry Phillips, III
Judicial District IX -- Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester
71 Hawthorne Way
Hartsdale, NY 10530
Phone: (914) 948-2228
RegentPhillips@mail.nysed.gov

James R. Tallon, Jr.
Judicial District VI - Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Madison, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga, Tompkins
United Hospital Fund
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue, 23rd Floor
New York, N.Y. 10118-0110
Phone (212) 494-0777
RegentTallon@mail.nysed.gov

Roger Tilles
Judicial District X – Nassau, Suffolk
100 Crossways Park West, Suite 107
Woodbury, N.Y. 11797
Phone (516) 364-2533
RegentTilles@mail.nysed.gov

Karen Brooks Hopkins
Judicial District II - Kings
30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217
Phone (718) 636-4135
RegentHopkins@mail.nysed.gov

Charles R. Bendit
Judicial District I - New York
111 Eighth Avenue, Suite 1500
New York, N.Y. 10011
Phone (212) 220-9945
RegentBendit@mail.nysed.gov

Betty A. Rosa
Judicial District XII - Bronx
Chambreleng Hall, Fordham University
441 East Fordham Road
Bronx, N.Y. 10458
Phone (718) 817-5053
RegentRosa@mail.nysed.gov

Lester W. Young, Jr.
55 Hanson Place Suite 400
Brooklyn N.Y. 11217
Phone (718) 722-2796
RegentYoung@mail.nysed.gov

Christine D. Cea At large
Judicial District XIII --Richmond
NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities
1050 Forest Hill Road
, Staten Island, NY 10314
Phone (718) 494-5306

Wade S. Norwood
74 Appleton Street
Rochester, NY 14611
Phone (585) 436-294
RegentNorwood@mail.nysed.gov

Thankful Thursday

In yet another it's never too late to be thankful Thankful Thursday Friday post, today I am thankful for/that:

1. God's grace.


2. Cooking with the kiddies. Now if only they would eat the stuff they like to watch/help me cook.


3. Fresh baked bread.


4. "Here mommy let me help you." Even if the help isn't all that helpful at least they tried. Little sweet hearts.


5. Central heating. Not too thrilled about the energy bill though.

What are you thankful for?