We all knew it, and now Robert Samuelson has written a good column about the fact that college is not for everyone. Nor should it be.

And, while we’re at it, high schools need to rebuild their technical, vocational programs, as well as their academic programs. One size does not fit all. Nor should it.

This is it. Teacher appreciation week. Here’s Charles Blow’s wonderful op-ed appreciation of his best teacher, his mother. I would add my mother to that list. She taught me so much–to be positive; to work hard; to expect to succeed; to be happy; to take life on, even when it’s hard–as we dealt with my father’s early death and had to move to three different countries–finally moving to New Jersey when I was in fourth grade. There, I will always remember my teacher, Mrs. Jones–who taught me math and history and science and English (long before pull outs or ESL or bilinigual education) by including me in everything and expecting me to learn English quickly. I did. I am forever grateful to her and to all the teachers I had. Most — by far–were wonderful.

As Mr. Blow write, it’s long past time for us to honor our teachers and stop blaming or demonizing them. Let us get that message before it’s too late for all of our students.

Here are the links. Happy reading and happy listening.

I’m glad The Atlantic piece has legs…. I’ll post the Education Week piece later. I am most grateful and hope that it moves the special education reform conversation forward.

Hello again. My piece has garnered many, many comments, including some excellent discussion starters. That was my hope–to get special education reform on the front burner of education reform. Let’s hope that’s happening. Here’s a beginning…I’ll be on a Los Angeles public radio station this morning, as a result. So, let’s see how the conversation evolves. Here’s the link again in case you wish to revisit. Onward and upward!

Let’s hope this helps to move the conversation forward.

Interestingly, a statistic that caught my eye recently is this: In Finland by the age of 16, 60% of students have had “special education.” By which Finland means, focused attention on the elements of learning basic reading, writing and math. Perhaps the Finns and this author are on to something important. A worthy read.

It got me thinking about other popular teaching myths. One of them, labeling learners as V or A or K (VAK)–visual, aural, or kinesthetic learners–has also been debunked. Yet it remains popular, especially in special education.

Why is it that unproven or disproven methods continue to be popular? Why? And why do we stay with them even when they are not effective? Is it that these ‘methods’ are so intuitive that they must be true and must work! Is it like the old saying–“My mind’s made up. don’t confuse me with the facts.”