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Academics Back to School Behavior Blog Fall Schedules Seasonal Simple Classroom VocabularyThe First 10 Days of School If you are anything like me, the first 10 days are a struggle. You have so many new ideas for the new year, so many things you want to implement, and you feel pressure to start on the very first day. Here’s my number one tip: DON’T. Just don’t. In special education, and more specifically the self contained setting, what our kids really need is STRUCTURE.

First, we walk through the routine.

Vocabulary is HUGE

A little planning before school begins can pay big dividends throughout the school year. Starting off on the right foot can make all the difference.

As the school year begins, it’s always fun to learn more about your students in a way that celebrates individuality and promotes creativity! Using this beginning of the year digital all about me activity is as a creative way for my students to set goals, express their favorites, and have something to look back on for their school year in our class.

Instructional technology seeks to disprove the idea that "great teachers are born, not made."

"Students today can't prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend on slates, which are more expensive. What will they do when the slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write." From a Teachers Conference, 1703. "Students today depend on paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?" From a principal's publication, 1815. "Students today depend too much on ink. They don't know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil." From the National Association of Teachers Journal, 1907. "Students today depend on store-bought ink. They don't know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or cipher until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education." From The Rural American Teacher, 1928. "Students depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of how to cope in the business world, which is not so extravagant." From the Parent Teachers Association Gazette, 1941. "Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries." From Federal Teachers, 1950.

What this suggests is that all technologies, be they things that plug in or advances in thought, have various affordances that make them at times useful and at times not useful. The trick is to figure out what makes them useful in what situations in order to leverage their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

Developmental disabilities occur among all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Recent estimates in the United States show that about one in six, or about 17%, of children aged 3 through 17 years have one or more developmental disabilities, such as: ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, intellectual disability, learning disability, vision impairment, and other developmental delays.2

In Our Vaults Since 1892 when the first flag was donated to the Museum of the Confederacy, we have continued to preserve these important artifacts, culminating in a collection that includes more than 822 total flags and flag fragments. These include wartime, postwar, miniatures, and reproductions. The Museum houses the largest single collection of Confederate and Union national, state, presentation, company and regimental flags including nearly 500 wartime flags. More than half of the Museum’s flag collection are captured flags entrusted to the Museum by mandate of the United States Congress and the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1905 and 1906. The remaining flags are from private donations. This collection continues to increase in this manner today. If you would like to inquire about donating a flag or related object to The American Civil War Museum, please email us. The Museum’s flag collection is housed in a dedicated 1,300 square-foot storage and examination facility. The 100 extra-fragile silk flags are preserved in a custom-built flat storage system. In the 1990s, the Museum embarked upon a systematic program to conserve the flag collection and increase research and access to the flags. Requests for research information and access to the flag collection have steadily increased over the years. Individuals, researchers, authors and publishers all over the world seek out the Museum for research information on its flag collection.

The Confederate battle flag has been the topic of much discussion regarding its meaning and symbolism. We asked our historian, John Coski, to discuss the flag and its meanings. John is an acknowledged expert on the Confederate battle flag, and is author of The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem (2005, Harvard University Press). His answers can be seen in this video.

who's perpetually in motion,

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Gifted children often lead double lives. Intellectually, they may seem like small, eccentric adults, and they may prefer the company of adults, but in many ways they are still children. For this reason, many gifted education experts have doubts about letting gifted students start college several years early. In this talk, you will hear about my experience entering a college environment at age 13. You’ll hear about my successes and failures, the way I interact with the professional and academic world, and what I am learning now as an ex-gifted adult. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at

If your child has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), the IEP team will meet every year to bring it up to date. One of the first steps is to update your child’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance. Some states/school districts refer to this as PLAAFP, some as PLOP and others as PLP.

What does PLOP include?

To write the PLOP, the IEP team draws information from several sources. They should include teacher observations and objective data, such as test results and scores.

ASD begins before the age of 3 years and can last throughout a person’s life, although symptoms may improve over time. Some children show ASD symptoms within the first 12 months of life. In others, symptoms may not show up until 24 months or later. Some children with ASD gain new skills and meet developmental milestones, until around 18 to 24 months of age and then they stop gaining new skills, or they lose the skills they once had.

Examples of social communication and social interaction characteristics related to ASD can include: