I Speak of Dreams

Improving Reading Fluency

misterteacher.com has a nifty how-to post on improving reading fluency through the use of technology, specifically iPods.

High Achieving Dyslexics: John Chambers

John Chambers is the CEO of networking gear maker  Cisco Systems.  In 2004, he said his biggest regret was:

"That I didn't share my issues with dyslexia earlier. I didn't realize how that impacts others. Because you consider it a weakness and you don't share your weaknesses. And you don't realize that it helps others who have this issue, and also your family."

He revealed his learning disability in the mid-1990s, in response to a child's question.  Thank you, John Chambers, for your honesty.

911 for kids who bully

Link: Teachers At Risk » Blog Archive » 911 for kids who bully.

I believe that out of respect for persons, we need to help people who bully find other more positive ways to meet their needs and enable them to live happy fulfilled lives . If however you don’t think that should be our goal and you think I’m one of those bleeding heart liberals, then think about respecting your pocket book and think of the increasing financial costs to taxpayers because people continue to bully and don’t live up to their potential so they can contribute to society in a more positive way. That’s the way I see it.

Awesome DIY Woo Fest

Orac has laid down a challenge.  Can his readers construct more astonishing woo that than the actual woosters?

Imagine, if you will, the most awesome woo that you can think of. Then chime in on this thread to tell everyone what it is, how it works, and what it can do, building on my start and on what your fellow cravers of that Respectfully Insolent™ thing that Orac does. The woo-ier, the better, the more sincere-sounding, the better. If you want inspiration, just go back and peruse some of the victims--I mean subjects--of previous Your Friday Dose of Woo installments, or just peruse the Life Technology or Bio-Resonance websites . What I may do in a future installment, assuming this works, is to take your responses, plus whatever inspiration I can come up with, and weave them into One Woo To Rule Them All. As you add to this project of woo, imagine yourself as Deepak Chopra on steroids (a truly scary thought!) and forget about all notions you might have of evidence-based medicine or that nasty materialistic science.

Oh, boy.  I actually have to work right now or I'd dig right in.  EoR, are you less busy?  Commenters say, "don't forget the claim of suppression" and "be sure to mention an outdated theory."

Adrian Harper: Making a Difference

Via my friend Missprofe, I learned about Adrian Harper's blog and website.

Harper writes:

I am the writer of the Tales of Urban Horror Series, a series of horror books targeted toward multicultural young adults. I firmly believe that urban teens would read more if there were more books targeted toward them and young adult males would read more if there were more books that empowered them. My website is www.urbanhorror.com

Harper's books: Night Biters is the first in the series, and he recommends these books

You Know Those Sculptures You Can See on 280?

You know, the ones you can spot when you're southbound, south of the Edgewood exit?  It's the Runnymede Sculpture Farm.  And it will be open on July 14, 2007....if you have tickets.  The event benefits the San Mateo County Historical Society.

Flickr set #1     Flickr set #2

Our very special event, Art, History and Nature is held biennially at the Runnymede Sculpture Farm in Woodside. Owned by the Rosekrans family, the estate includes over 150 modern sculptures Runnymede Sculptureslocated on 120 acres of hills, meadows and forests. Hiking on this property is a wonderful treat! Historical farm artifacts and horse-drawn wagon rides are further highlights of this unique event.

Schedule
Art, History and Nature will run from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. with food and beverages supplied by local restaurants, wineries and breweries between 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Music will be provided by the Echo Beach Band. Back by popular demand we will hold another drawing this year with prizes even more fabulous than our drawing in 2005.

Read and Eat: Buffalo for the Broken Heart

I read Dan O'Brien's excellent memoir, Buffalo for the Broken Heart last week.   You should read it too.  Now I want to buy some  Grass-Fed Free Range Buffalo Meat.  Turns out they do have smaller packages....when Jumper Girl comes back from camping.

Helicopter Parenting: Americans Teaching in Kuwait Imprisoned and/or Threatened; Embassy Does Nothing

Update June 30 2007:

• Wheat-dogg has two letters, one from the ISR community and another from Katherine Phillips' parents.
  
• Reuters reports:

                               

The U.S. embassy confirmed in a statement a travel ban had been imposed on her, adding its consular section was in contact with the authorities to help Phillips leave Kuwait as soon as possible.

There are more than two dozen private schools in Kuwait, enrolling both foreign nationals (ex patriots) and Kuwaiti citizens.  An American citizen who is a teacher at one of these schools is unable to leave the country because of problems caused by a student's father, a Kuwaiti national.
 

On Their Own: Creating an Independent Future for Your Adult Child with Learning Disabilities and ADHD

Last month, Anne Ford published her new book, On Their Own: Creating an Independent Future for Your Adult Child with Learning Disabilities and ADHD- A Family Guide.

You can hear interviews with Ford and her co-author, John-Richard Thompson at the LD Podcast:  #54: Introduction;  #55: Helicopter Parenting and Families and Siblings; #56: Job Skills, Self-Advocacy, and Life Coaches

You can read an excerpt from the first chapter at the National Center for Learning Disabilities.  Here's a quote.  Ford is talking about how LDs are a life-long condition:

There is no cut-off point. No statute of limitations. What caused trouble in second grade in school can still cause trouble on the second shift at work.

Learning may in the end be the only word that encompasses enough of the various manifestations of the disability to give some idea of what we're talking about, but even so, it is inadequate, especially when trying to explain or define the problem.

Another difficulty I have experienced, especially when it comes to those whose LD is severe, is that usually there are no outward signs of LD, no physical characteristics one can point to that give an immediate understanding of the situation. There are no wheelchairs, no crutches or braces. We have no way to tell if someone has LD until we are faced with a situation influenced by the LD, and this often comes as such a surprise or source of confusion and frustration that we meet the situation with something verging on total incomprehension. "Why would she say that?" we might think after a coworker has just uttered a completely inappropriate remark, or "Why on earth can't he understand this?" we wonder after explaining something five times.

I am really looking forward to reading this.

"The Test From Hell" --critique of College Board's decisions regarding accomodations for students with Learning Disabilities

On June 17, 2007, the SF Chronicle published an article,  The Test From Hell, by Kathryn Olney, on how the College Board in effect discriminates against students with learning disabilities.

The key points are that

• The number of children with diagnosed learning disabilities and school-based accommodations (Individual Education Plans and 504 plans) has been increasing.
• A significant portion, up to 25%, of college-bound students have IEPs and 504 plans, including accommodations in school (such as extended time on tests, use of computers rather than handwritten work, and so on)
• The College Board, who administer SAT tests, seem to have capped the percentage of tests given with accommodations at about 2%
• In 2006, the College Board acted secretly and unilaterally to drop the number of testing accommodations granted, by about 20%
• Robert Shaeffer of FairTest. org,: "Kids with legitimate needs are not being treated fairly or legally."
• Some authorities feel that "the real way to level the playing field is for ETS to give the test untimed, over two days, and with an ETS-supplied computer," for all students.

[Educational consultant Pat] Henery is spearheading a broad-based Bay Area coalition of pediatricians, psychologists, educational therapists, speech and language pathologists and parents, called Opt Out. They hope to convince Bay Area high schools to begin to accept a few students without the SSAT. "We've decided that if we can build a ground-swell at the high school level, it will be easier to sell the idea to public and private California colleges." FairTest has toyed with the idea of a class-action lawsuit against the board with Oakland's Disability Rights Advocates, the organization that first sued SAT in order to remove the asterisk that disclosed to colleges that a student had taken the test under non traditional conditions. Right now, it maintains a list of (mostly) private colleges on its Web site that don't require the SAT.

Opt Out does not seem to have a website, yet.  Pat Henery can be reached 4l5-44l-2366.

Law Office of Jo Anne Simon
356 Fulton Street, Third Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201