I would argue, in total seriousness, that one of the places that Skinnerism thrives today is in computing technologies, particularly in “social” technologies. This, despite the field’s insistence that its development is a result, in part, of the cognitive turn that supposedly displaced behaviorismUltimately behaviorismUltimately behaviorism provides a simplistic lens that can’t see beyond itself.Why is the doctrine of behaviorism still being used, at all?How can ABA be the gold-standard for autism when it... More provides a simplistic lens that can’t see beyond itself.Why isContinue reading
There are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More “Persuasion and Operant Conditioning: The Influence of B. F. Skinner in Big Tech and Ed-tech”
Tag Archives: education
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 readingThere are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More “CHAMPS and the ComplianceNoncompliance is a social skill.Noncompliance is one of the most important social skills. Noncompliance skills make it possible to say no, even when others want your right to say no to... More Classroom”
Neurodiversity in the Classroom
NeurodiversityNeurodiversity is the diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species.NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodiversity is a biological fact. It’s not a perspective, an approach, a... More is an equity
EquityA commitment to action: the process of redistributing access and opportunity to be fair and just.A way of being: the state of being free of bias, discrimination, and identity-predictable outcomes... More imperative and is critical in shifting the culture of teaching and learning.
We offer several series and courses on neurodiversity in the classroom. This is what our communityWhat I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/... More of neurodivergent
Neurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodivergent is quite... More and disabledThe label "disabled" means so much to me. It means I have community. It means I have rights. It means I can be proud. It means I can affirm myself... More people wants to say to educators. This is 100s of hours of free and open professional development, deeply and broadly sourced. Learn how to better treat and teach our loved people.
Books Every Progressive Educator Should Read
Our friends Nick and Chris of Human Restoration Project list some of their favorite books for progressive educators. I think a cornerstone of progressive educationProgressive EducationA movement based on connectivism & communitiesWhat I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/... More of practice -the networks we create for meaningful relationships, collaboration, & learning.A pulsating web
In essence, the open Web, while not free from governmental and commercial pressures, is about as free from such pressures as a major component of modern capitalist society can be.... More of autonomous engagement.Growing and Expanding Progressive EducationProgressive EducationA movement based on connectivism & communities of practice -the networks we create for meaningful relationships, collaboration, & learning.A pulsating web of autonomous engagement.Growing and Expanding Progressive Education w/... More w/… MoreContinue reading
There are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More “Books Every Progressive Educator Should Read”
Fundamental Texts of Progressive Pedagogy
Our friends at Human Restoration Project suggest that their communityWhat I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of communityWhat I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/... More.Community is magic. Community is powerThe 20th Century political scientist Karl Deutsch said, “Power is the ability not to have to learn.”I quote this statement often, because I think it’s one of the most important... More. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/… More read these four “fundamental texts of progressive pedagogy” to understand their philosophy. These are greatContinue reading
There are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More “Fundamental Texts of Progressive Pedagogy”
Key Principles When Supporting Autistic People
The community at Spectrum Gaming released “Key Principles when supporting 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 are Autistic, spend time amongst Autistic people, online and offline. If... More people” at Barriers to Education. We believe in REAL coproduction, so have worked with our community
What I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/... More to create ‘Our Key Principles When Supporting AutisticAutistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disabilityIn the broadest sense, the social model of disability is about nothing more complicated than a clear focus on the economic, environmental and cultural barriers encountered by people who are... More.If you are wondering whether youContinue reading
There are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More “Key Principles When Supporting Autistic People”
Six Things Educators Must Know About Neurodivergent People
Here are six things we think every educator must know about neurodivergentNeurodivergent, sometimes abbreviated as ND, means having a mind that functions in ways which diverge significantly from the dominant societal standards of “normal.”NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodivergent is quite... More people. By understanding these, we make “all means all” more meaningful.
– Spiky ProfilesThere is consensus regarding some neurodevelopmental conditions being classed as neurominorities, with a ‘spiky profile’ of executive functions difficulties juxtaposed against neurocognitive strengths as a defining characteristic. Neurominorities, Spiky Profiles,... More
– MonotropismMonotropism is a theory of autism developed by autistic people, initially by Dinah Murray and Wenn Lawson.Monotropic minds tend to have their attention pulled more strongly towards a smaller number of interests at... More
– Double Empathy ProblemThe ‘double empathy problem’ refers to the mutual incomprehension that occurs between people of different dispositional outlooks and personal conceptual understandings when attempts are made to communicate meaning.From finding a... More
– Rejection Sensitive DysphoriaRejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is extreme emotional sensitivity and pain triggered by the perception that a person has been rejected or criticized by important people in their life. It may also... More
– Exposure AnxietyExposure anxiety (EA) is a condition identified by Donna Williams in which the child or adult feels acutely self-conscious; it leads to a persistent and overwhelming fear of interaction.Exposure anxiety... More
– Situational Mutism I am situationally mute. For anyone that isn’t aware of what that is, it simply means that in certain situations, places or around certain people I don’t want to and... More
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: ReframeWhen we successfully reframe public discourse, we change the way the public sees the world. We change what counts as common sense. Because language activates frames, new language is required... More The… More soundtrack, a Black girl protagonist with a transgender friend, a critique of the school-to-prison pipeline, and Key &Continue readingThere are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More “Wendell & Wild: An Indictment of the School-to-Prison Pipeline with a Banging Black Punk
Everything 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”
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 readingThere are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More “100 Seconds to Midnight: The Need for a Human-Centered Education”
R-word and Genius: Situationally Mute Hyperlexic Autistic
When I was a kid, school didn’t know I could read because I wouldn’t read aloud. Situational mutism I am situationally mute. For anyone that isn’t aware of what that is, it simply means that in certain situations, places or around certain people I don’t want to and… More and exposure anxietyExposure anxiety (EA) is aContinue readingThere are three types of reading: eye reading, ear reading, and finger reading.The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning Most schools and... More “R-word and Genius: Situationally Mute Hyperlexic
Image credit: "Neurodivergent #2: When visions leap off the page" by Betsy Selvam Hyperlexia is when a child starts reading early and surprisingly beyond their expected ability. It's often accompanied by... More Autistic”