Palmetto Author

When I watch my son’s zoom lessons for his special education classes, I am instantly reminded of the Brady Bunch Squares.  In every one of those squares they’re doing the same thing: Looking left, right, up, and down, with a smile as if all is right with the world.  I am thinking way back then when the Brady Bunch was recorded, it was probably different from Zoom where the Bradys can’t see each…

When I watch my son’s zoom lessons for his special education classes, I am instantly reminded of the Brady Bunch Squares.  In every one of those squares they’re doing the same thing: Looking left, right, up, and down, with a smile as if all is right with the world.  I am thinking way back then when the Brady Bunch was recorded, it was probably different from Zoom where the Bradys can’t see each…

Thank God they Didn’t Close the McDonald’s

Photo by C. Cagnin on Pexels.com

I know, I know. This title is strange. Or in light of recent events: Selfish. But it’s not what it appears. I will explain in due course, but first, let me break it all the way down into categories of the people who are trying to survive this global pandemic. So, we have parents who are trying to survive in a single space that consists of a school, a workspace, and…

Jazzy’s Beach Day Blog

I wrote this blog before my son was diagnosed with autism. While he knows more words than he did three years ago, he is still considered to be non-verbal at almost 6 years old. Hopefully, one day he will be able to write his own blog without his own thoughts.

When Asked Questions Get Answered…

In my class, I teach the fact that the culture of trust exercised for teachers in other countries is not necessarily practiced in the United States.  Because this has been my experience teaching in public education, I usually take the point-of-view of these misunderstood professionals who have the knowledge and experience, but educational decisions are made by committee to where the voices of…

The Shame of it All

So a video has come across my Facebook feed several times about a young boy in a barbershop who was having a tantrum. The caption read, “This is why we can’t be friends with our child.” So in the video, as the barbers came to aid in this situation, this boy’s screaming tirade got worse and the mother just stood there looking helpless. Well of course I went to the comments, and of course the…

It’s All Fun and Games Until You Pass by the Nabi Display 

When I hear the term, “parent shaming,” my emotions range from being amused to extremely angry. I will clarify why I am angry later in this post, but I want to start off with why this term cracks me up. Blame it on my vivid imagination, but when I think of “parent shamers,” I have visions of a peanut gallery of select people who sit on high benches and wag their index finger at those who seemly…

And it would go something like this: “Mama, he won’t let me play the game!” My four-year-old would yell as he stomps into the room, with his screwed up in anger and his little arms crossed in fury.   I would then take him into my lap and explain, “That’s your brother’s game, but maybe if you ask him nicely, he will let you have a turn.”  My son’s face would relax before scrambling down from my…

One Year Later…

   Every time my son does something new, I think about the day the psychologist diagnosed him with autism. When my son says a new word, I thought about how the psychologist said that he would remain nonverbal. When my son (who was diagnosed at three and is now four) spells, writes, and reads words,  I remember how the psychologist told my husband and me that he would always be low functioning.  I…

When I was young, I used to love snow days.  That meant no school and a day to either hang out in pjs. or go play in the snow.  When I taught high school, I use to love snow days. That meant a break from fighting to pass on my knowledge to kids who were somewhat… um … resistant.  I wasn’t going to play in the snow, though.  What I was going to do is set my small child up with his toys.  Then my…

Inservice Days are the Devil

When I was teaching K-12, In-Service Days brought about mixed feelings.  As a teacher, they had the potential to be useful days where I could plan in collaboration with the rest of the members of my department, take advantage of useful training, and let’s not lie, I looked forward to the one day where I could catch up on work without having to discipline and/or teach students. So I totally get…

Hogwarts and the Exceptional Wizards

A couple of days ago was September 1st.  Every “Potterhead” knows that September 1st is the day all of the young witches and wizards bound for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will pass through the invisible barrier to platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station in London to board the Hogwarts Express.  I also heard somewhere that this is the year that Harry Potter’s son, James is to attend…