I’ve been thinking about advocacy for students with learning disabilities and have been searching for programs, websites, blogs, etc that address this particular issue. I came across a great site called The Advocacy and Learning Center (TALC)
This site really covers a wide range of issues and I particularly like the section for teachers. In the teacher section which is near the bottom of the navigation pane, you can find articles, essays and other resources. I read one essay that really made me think. It was called “Stop Yelling, It Doesn’t Help”
I think this past school year is the first year of my teaching career where I did actually yell at my students. In the past it was unnecessary but the group I had this year was very difficult to control. All teachers agreed they were a very tough group. So I was not alone in that I resorted to yelling occasionally. The article reminded me of the reasons why this was pointless and only led to more problems but it also got me thinking in a different direction. I have never taught children without disabilities. I am not often around “normal” children and I think it’s easy to forget sometimes that these kids are different and typical strategies don’t always work with them. I wonder if this is part of the reason why schools and even parents struggle and why there is such a need for student advocacy. Particularly for students with LD, the problem is often masked by ordinary looking, speaking, and acting children. There is no major sign to indicate there is any sort of problem. So people look at a perfectly normal looking, speaking and acting child, ask them to read something and then get angry or frustrated when they can’t do it. I believe this is much the same way I got frustrated with my students enough to raise my voice in an attempt to control them—there were times when I almost forgot they needed extra patience and time from me.
I suppose the purpose of this posting is really to remind myself and others that students with LD need the help of their teachers and parents and they need the acceptance of school administrators not for looking ordinary but for learning differently. Don’t judge a book by its cover and remember that some problems that are well hidden still need to be addressed.
This site really covers a wide range of issues and I particularly like the section for teachers. In the teacher section which is near the bottom of the navigation pane, you can find articles, essays and other resources. I read one essay that really made me think. It was called “Stop Yelling, It Doesn’t Help”
I think this past school year is the first year of my teaching career where I did actually yell at my students. In the past it was unnecessary but the group I had this year was very difficult to control. All teachers agreed they were a very tough group. So I was not alone in that I resorted to yelling occasionally. The article reminded me of the reasons why this was pointless and only led to more problems but it also got me thinking in a different direction. I have never taught children without disabilities. I am not often around “normal” children and I think it’s easy to forget sometimes that these kids are different and typical strategies don’t always work with them. I wonder if this is part of the reason why schools and even parents struggle and why there is such a need for student advocacy. Particularly for students with LD, the problem is often masked by ordinary looking, speaking, and acting children. There is no major sign to indicate there is any sort of problem. So people look at a perfectly normal looking, speaking and acting child, ask them to read something and then get angry or frustrated when they can’t do it. I believe this is much the same way I got frustrated with my students enough to raise my voice in an attempt to control them—there were times when I almost forgot they needed extra patience and time from me.
I suppose the purpose of this posting is really to remind myself and others that students with LD need the help of their teachers and parents and they need the acceptance of school administrators not for looking ordinary but for learning differently. Don’t judge a book by its cover and remember that some problems that are well hidden still need to be addressed.
The image above is by Jana Christy and was found on www.flickr.com
1 comment:
I think you have picked a wonderful topic to explore more about. I do not work in a school in which students are placed in special education classes; however, I have students with special needs. You post really made me think.
Anna
P.S. Great picture. It really compliments what you were talking about in this blog post.
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