It's a Universal Thing

To be really cliche, I believe that the two topics I discussed (universal design & standards-based educational reform) are pretty important for teachers to know about. And to be honest, I think teachers DO know about these things yet do not know what to do about the situations. I think the standards-based reform is the way to go. It is absurd for students to be compared to one another when it should really be about whether or not the students are finding success within the standards. Class ranking is stupid, it makes education a competition. Education should be about teaching and learning.

Universal design is trickier. I have talked about how everyone is different and learns differently and here comes universal design to make sure that everyone is being involved in a fair way. Some beginning teachers have little or no experience with students with disabilities. They might not know how to handle certain situations or adapt activities. Some teachers just don't care and do what they want regardless of who can or cannot participate. We have to do better at making sure beginning teachers get experience with universal design situations. You can only learn these types of things through experience. We also have to make sure that playing field IS leveled for everyone, everyone deserves the same opportunity in schools to be successful.