CHAMPS and the Compliance Classroom

I wrote this in 2016 after witnessing a CHAMPS classroom. My stomach dropped when I saw CHAMPS at our elementary school. “Eyes front, knees front, closed mouth” leapt off the wall and rose from memory. I was in school in the 1970s and 80s. Some teachers were really into table readiness and proper student posture,Continue reading “CHAMPS and the Compliance Classroom”

Youth Suicides Are Closely Tied With In-Person School Attendance

“The findings of this study suggest that youth suicides are closely tied with in-person school attendance.” In-Person Schooling and Youth Suicide: Evidence from School Calendars and Pandemic School Closures | NBER The findings of this study align with experiences in our communitiesWhat I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community isContinue reading “Youth Suicides Are Closely Tied With In-Person School Attendance”

Six Things Educators Must Know About Neurodivergent People

Here are six things we think every educator must know about neurodivergent people. By understanding these, we make “all means all” more meaningful.

Spiky Profiles
Monotropism
Double Empathy Problem
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria
Exposure Anxiety
Situational Mutism

Driven to Meltdown, Castigated for Melting

I feel the weight of this quote from Pete Wharmby’s new book, “What I Want to Talk About How Autistic Special Interests Shape a Life“. The tendency to force a meltdown upon an autisticAutistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.If you are wondering whether you areContinue reading “Driven to Meltdown, Castigated for Melting”

Wendell & Wild: An Indictment of the School-to-Prison Pipeline with a Banging Black Punk Soundtrack

“Wendell & Wild” has a Black punkEverything that was normally supposed to be hidden was brought to the front.Punk subculture – Wikipedia The First Rule of Punk: Be Yourself Our Second Rule of Punk: Reframe The… More soundtrack, a Black girl protagonist with a transgender friend, a critique of the school-to-prison pipeline, and Key &Continue reading “Wendell & Wild: An Indictment of the School-to-Prison Pipeline with a Banging Black Punk Soundtrack”

The Sensory Hell of the Lunchroom

Needless to say, the dining hall, as well as being busy, crowded and a source of multiple odours, was also very noisy, as trays were picked up and clattered back down, cutlery jangled, and metal serving dishes clanged against metal hot plates. Meanwhile, the children, squeezed into rows of tiny seats bolted on to collapsibleContinue reading “The Sensory Hell of the Lunchroom”

100 Seconds to Midnight: The Need for a Human-Centered Education

Our friends at Human Restoration Project released a very important documentary called “100 Seconds to Midnight: The Need for a Human-Centered Education“. In January 2020 – in what now seems like a prophetic forecast for the distressing year to come – the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists announced to the world that it was “100 SecondsContinue reading “100 Seconds to Midnight: The Need for a Human-Centered Education”