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Advice from a learning-disabled individual: Part 1
Amy Temple EducationFor the past few months, I have been sharing my story about what it is like living with learning disabilities and the difficulties I have had to face. I have most definitely had my fair share of rejections over something that I have no control over, and that left me bitter and hurt for years. I wasted a lot of time being upset because society decided that I wasn't worth it. This month, I wish to pass on some wisdom that I have learned over the past 35 years. To begin with, I am going to share with you a piece of advice that my parents shared with me years ago.
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Most school safety solutions, including arming teachers, remain highly…
Michelle R. Matisons EducationEveryone seems to have a solution for safer public schools, but whose vision will guide the sweeping changes required for real school security? The National Rifle Association (NRA) or the National Education Association (NEA)? Last fall, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who also chairs the Federal Commission on School Safety, claimed she does not automatically favor federally mandated teacher weapons training. Instead, she describes the arming of classroom teachers as a "personal choice" for individual schools districts. Let's be clear here: armed teachers are not exactly new. But the national climate requires more school districts to tackle the issue of safety head-on.
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Brain breaks for English learners increase focus, motivation, and engagement
Erick Herrmann EducationWe have all experienced those moments in the classroom where our students are noticeably sleepy, overwhelmed, or beginning to get disengaged. Often, these times come when we are presenting complex information, when students have spent significant time with students in one place, or towards the end of the day when students are tired from having been focusing on learning throughout the day. For our English learners, this cognitive exhaustion may be compounded by the fact that they are not only learning a lot of new information, but also learning that information in a new language. All students, but perhaps English learners in particular, can benefit from "brain breaks."
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The baffling nature of auditory processing disorders
Sheilamary Koch CommunicationsUnlike many deficits that fall under the umbrella of audiology, auditory processing disorders are not diagnosed during infancy, toddlerhood or even the early school years. In fact, most audiologists wait until age 7 to make a definitive diagnosis. This is due to the child's neural pathways not being sufficiently mature to make a full evaluation prior to this age, explains Tracy Hagan Winn, audiologist at the Northwestern University Center for Audiology, Speech, Language, and Learning in Evanston, Illinois.
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Strategies to engage girls in STEM
Brian Stack EducationFor at least the last decade, there has been a push in our profession nationally to find ways to engage more girls in STEM-related courses and careers. This push has not gone unnoticed to me in my own New Hampshire high school, where currently more than 50 percent of students enrolled in AP Calculus and 80 percent of students enrolled in AP Biology are girls. The statistics are similar for other high-level STEM courses. What's more, girls are performing as well, if not better, academically in these courses as boys.
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Safety tips for making friends online for young adults with learning differences
Jodi Butler Pierce EducationWhether we are comfortable with it or not, meeting potential friends and relationship partners online is becoming very popular. According to eHarmony, 40 percent of Americans are using online dating sites to search for romantic partners. Outside of dating sites, there are many ways that young adults meet and make friends online. They connect through social media sites, multiplayer video games, fan fiction blogs, and podcasts, and other special interest groups. A quick survey of students at the CIP Brevard Center revealed that most of them feel strongly that their online friends are equally as important as friends in real life.
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US economy adds only 20,000 jobs in February; unemployment falls to 3.8…
Seth Sandronsky Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe federal government’s February jobs report shows that payroll employment rose 20,000 last month, a sharp departure from the 311,000 new jobs added in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. February’s unemployment rate of 3.8 percent compared favorably with 4.0 percent in January. "One month does not make a trend," says Elise Gould, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. On that note, job growth averaged 186,000 over the past three months. "One reason for the February weakness was harsh weather, depressing job growth in construction, hotels, and restaurants," according to Gould.
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Betsy DeVos’ controversial scholarship proposal
Patrick Gleeson EducationOn Feb. 28, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a new school choice proposal. According to a senior Department of Education official, the $5 billion proposal — which first has to skate past a determinedly opposed Democratic majority in the House of Representatives — would allow each state "to take advantage of scholarship money that would be made available for them for programs they design." This sounds — and may even be — relatively harmless at worst and, at best, could be one of Secretary DeVos’ better ideas. Before getting into the proposal itself, it may be useful to step back and consider what’s going on with school choice from a broader perspective.
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Schools need to do more to combat K-12 cybercrime in 2019
Bambi Majumdar EducationSurveys conducted in 2018 showed that, out of 17 vulnerable industries, education institutions had the weakest cybersecurity protections. Many K-12 schools now face serious scrutiny because of their failure to offer a robust security plan. This may prevent their students' data from being safe. The McAfee Labs 2019 Threat Predictions Report shows that the cyber underworld is evolving and consolidating, and we can expect growing cybercrime networks in 2019. The report helps highlight three top security concerns for schools in 2019.
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How to be a better mentor to your medical residents
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationAs a teaching physician, you no doubt take the job of providing guidance to your doctors-in-training very seriously. Still, there are probably areas in which you'd like to improve the interaction you have so your young doctors glean the most professional and personal benefits — but you're not quite sure how to proceed. Good news: there's a wealth of research that covers solutions to navigate a variety of mentorship challenges with great results. Try these proven strategies.
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