Showing results for "Extinction" in Education

The last "Indian War" was fought against Native American children in the dormitories and classrooms of government boarding schools. Only by removing Indian children from their homes for extended periods of time, policymakers reasoned, could white "civilization" take root while childhood memories of "savagism" gradually faded to the point of extinction. In the words of one official: "Kill the Indian and save the man."

Nicole Hendrick Donovan, a mother of four, couldn’t have prepared for the events that led to her son’s removal from the public-school system. Behavioral spikes, depression, and anxiety were only symptoms of an underlying diagnosis that had gone untreated for years. On a sunny afternoon, Jack eloped from first grade, creating chaos and leaving a trail of injured staff in his wake. Within her memoir, Donovan describes the path to her son’s autism diagnosis and her journey to acceptance and unconditional love, not only for Jack, but also for herself.