They’re talking about my Wall Street Journal piece.  Pretty lively.

BUT, I’m afraid that I’ve been misquoted…

I did not write that it’s time to debate mainstreaming. That was the Wall Street Journal’s headline. Not mine.

I was looking at special education far more broadly.  I wrote that it’s time to bring all stakeholders to the table–regular and special education–to discuss how to educate all students. Mainsteaming is but one of the issues to explore. As many of these commenters say, mainstreaming is often an individualized situation. Context matters! I make no conclusions about it .

http://www.joannejacobs.com/2013/08/its-time-to-debate-mainstreaming/#comments

I hope you’ll check it out. The argument I make is that to fix special education, we need all stakeholders at the table–regular education parents and teachers, as well as special ed stakeholders.  The need is for open and frank discussion. My piece is NOT intended to be about the pros and cons of inclusion.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323309404578613532497541300.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion

In reviewing the many thoughtful comments this piece has garnered so far, I am struck by the reality that this piece has struck a chord. I do   hope we keep the conversation going. How about a Center or Forum or Event for these very conversations….

Are you in?

Here’s an interesting (to me, scary) article in Scientific American.  Now that ‘everyone’ has a smart phone–and calculators are allowed in many classrooms–EEK!– kids (and everyone else) don’t need to memorize stuff.  They just need to click and get it.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=smartphones-mean-no-longer-memorize-facts&WT.mc_id=SA_sharetool_Twitter

I remember how glad I was when my kids’ school did not allow calculators–that was back in the ’90’s. Times have changed. No one needs to know who the first President was– or how much 3 apples will cost, if each is 19 cents. Just look it up in a flash. Wow, that was easy!

Yet, I find this unsettling. What happens when the battery dies?  Or the smart phone is lost?  What will anyone know or be able to do?

I still believe the best calculator and ‘smart’ gadget is our brain–and it needs to be nourished, challenged, and educated.