Be careful what you wish for ...

Hi Everyone,

I recently attended an 'Educator in Residence' workshop lead by Dr Loretta Giorcelli. This article was cited as recommended reading for educators committed to the development of inclusive education in mainstream settings.

Providing individual teacher aide or 'paraprofessional support', for students with a disability is a very common model of practice in classrooms around Australia.

My personal opinion is that is a practice which needs to change.

What do you think?

Click on the picture to read the article. I wonder if it will change your way of thinking, the way that you advocate for your own child or your teaching practice?

You can check out other online articles that I have been reading on the topic of inclusion by scrolling down the right margin of the blog, in the blue section and clicking on any of the links listed under 'Professional Readings 2010'.

DiVine - Online Community

DiVine- Victoria's Online Community for People with a Disability.
Click on the picture to enter.
Hi Everyone,
How wonderful!
This newly launched website not only provides information on a wide range of topics but also encourages readers to be contributors. Take a look for yourself.
Thanks for telling me about it Wendy :)

Gifted Education - Brainiac

Hi Everyone,
It has been quite a while between posts. The end of my school year has been no doubt as busy as yours. Now that transition programs and reports are complete I am looking forward to spending some more time blogging again.
I know that I am in 'relaxed holiday mode' when I start reading narratives. I'm not there yet!
I have been reading Tony Attwood's 'The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome', from cover to cover. I normally just flick to the section I need.
It's a great book. Today it got me thinking about the needs of gifted children on and off the autism spectrum .
My school runs fortnightly professional reading breakfasts. The teachers involved ( about 14 of us) meet in a cafe near the school, have breakfast together and reflect on a reading that has been selected by a group member the fortnight before. It's a fun way to keep up with our professional reading and gets each of us to look at material outside of our usual areas of interest. Colleen broke the tradition of providing a chapter or scholarly reading, in our last session for the year, by providing us with an episode of the SBS program ' Insight' to watch.
The program 'Brainiac' talks about intelligence, how it is defined and measured and how having an IQ in the gifted range can impact in both negative and positive ways on a person's life.
Click on the picture if you are interested in watching too.
I have also added some Gifted Education links to the blog margin today if you are interested in exploring the topic further.