Education Learning Issues

FOLLOWUP TO "IRRITATED MASSACHUSETTS PARENTS." A few posts ago, we pointed to a news item describing the sorry state of gifted education in Massachusetts. One of our readers saw the post and replied that the lack of services for 2e students was the reason why she and her family moved out of the state a year ago. She promptly wrote a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe, which we pass along to you: "I just read 'Room to Grow' (9/20/09), and became filled with emotion once again. In 4/08, I left a phone message at the Department of Education inquiring why Massachusetts didn't fund programs for the gifted. My call was returned a year later on my cell phone, which I answered in my new state of Colorado. The caller claimed that my message just came across her desk. We left Massachusetts in 9/08 because my son, gifted with learning issues, could not get an appropriate education in the state. So much for the federal mandate that every child receive a free and appropriate education! I never received a response from a letter I sent to Mr. Young, then superintendent of the Newton Public Schools, in the spring of 2008, explaining why we were leaving Massachusetts. It is my sincere hope that this article has some positive impact on the group of students in the state’s public schools who aren’t getting the services they deserve." We trust the family is being served well in Colorado.

ACCELERATION FOR GIFTED. Tamara Fisher's most recent "Unwrapping the Gifted" posting deals with acceleration for gifted students. She says, "Despite the overwhelming evidence of acceleration's positive effects for kids who are ready for it, many schools still shy away from providing these kids with what they need educationally" -- and she points to that evidence. She also lists 18 [!!] methods of acceleration. See if one of them is appropriate for that gifted child you know. Read the blog.

COLLEGE WITH LDs. An article in The New York Times reported on a conference focused on questions for "high school counselors trying to guide students with disabilities — including dyslexia, ADHD and Asperger Syndrome — toward supportive colleges where they might thrive." The article, also says the conference yielded plenty of useful material for parents as well. Find the article.

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION. Edutopia published an article on putting child-development findings into practice in the classroom. Example mentioned: how experiencing a piece of information in multiple ways increases retention; or how confidence affects academic achievement. It sounds, however, that turning research into practice can still be a challenge. Read the article.