Last week, as part of the MFRW 52-week challenge blog posts, I wrote about the importance of my husband’s family as he fought through school with dyslexia. I just wanted to follow up with a YouTube video that we saw after we were married. When Jack viewed it he said that it showed exactly what it was like for him in the classroom. He also told me about a couple of teachers who recognized his difficulties and did things to make his class day easier for him while still keeping him in the group without being humiliated. Humiliation, unfortunately, played a part in too many of his classes.
The first thing he said one of his teachers did is stand in front of his row every time she was going to call on him for an answer to the next question. That gave him time to focus on what she would ask about. Another similar technique was when kids read paragraphs of text out loud. She started on the side of the room opposite him, He counted the paragraphs until she would reach him and again, he could focus on what he would have to do. Kids with learning disabilities–and even other conditions like shyness–need time to focus and prepare.
So this video is excellent. It was made many years ago but still applies to classrooms today. It’s long, but any part of it you watch is worthwhile. It’s called How Difficult Can this Be? A short three minute excerpt is here. If you’re a teacher or a parent with a child with learning disabilities, I know you will find this interesting.
Thanks!
Dee