A TEACHER MADE A DIFFERENCE FOR MYSELF AND MY SON:
I never really understood why school was so difficult for me as a child ...It wasn't until I was 36 years old and I had a son of my own in the 2nd grade facing some of the same struggles that I had faced many years ago, did I learn that I wasn't stupid all those years after all. I simply had a learning disability that no one understood. See back then and still today, there are many parents and teachers that truly don't understand that not every student learn by the same methods. It wasn't until I was in the 11th grade that I had a very positive learning experience. I remember my first day of Civics in Mr. Howard's class. I recall all the students that always got A's and B's saying how hard Mr. Howard's class was, so needless to say, I was ready to walk right back out the door. But instead I found learning to be easy and fun for the very first time in my life. Why??? Mr. Howard didn't teach like all the other teachers......he taught in a way that I could learn. I am so thankful for my experience in Mr. Howard's class and I really wish he knew the difference he made in my life. I truly feel that was the turning point for me. On my own from that day forward, I used his ways in my other classes. School still continued to be a struggle for me but at least I knew I could learn like the other kids, but in my own way. I no longer panicked when it came to exams because I learned how to prepare myself.
If I can give any advice to a teacher OR parent out there today, it would be....listen to your children. If they're not wanting to go to school, if they're behind in their reading levels, if you sit by the hours with them trying to teach them spelling words, or sit by the hours trying to prepare them for that upcoming social studies exam etc.....DO NOT automatically assume your child is being lazy or that they are stupid. Sit down with YOUR CHILD and see where they are struggling, ASK THEM how can I help you? It's never too late..... My biggest struggles with educating my son the past 5 years has not been with my son, it's been getting the teachers to understand that I have a child who loves school and wants to learn and he's pushed aside and put in the hall with a tutor just because he doesn't understand something as quickly as the other children. This leads me to a story about my son when he was in 5th grade. I went to a teacher's conference for my son and the teacher proceeded to tell me that my son was lazy, daydreamed in class, doesn't turn in his assignment all the time, doesn't ask questions, etc.,,,Oh yes, and she also proceeded to tell me about how she had almost 30 kids in her class. I thought to myself, what does how many kids in your class have to do with my sons learning ability? I was shocked at what I heard, so I immediately went to the office and requested my son be tested to see if he qualified for "Special Education". They advised me that I would have to submit a written request to the school and explain why I felt he needed to be tested. They also said I should have my son tested by the doctors office to see if he needed medication to help him concentrate better in class. I laughed, thinking you have to be kidding me! Well, needless to say it took almost three months to get the testing on my son started after my written request and three phone calls to the school. I want you to know my son was also very willing to do this testing, he wanted answers for himself as well and agreed to be pulled out of normal class time to complete the testing. After the testing was completed, we were told that more than likely he didn't pass and would probably qualify for help. They said they felt he didn't pass because it took him twice as long to cover the material on the tests. However, when the actual test results came back his scores were too high and he did NOT qualify for the "Special Education" that he needed. Doing the testing did open their eyes to the fact that my son wasn't lazy but did have a learning disability because it takes him twice as long to process the material he is learning because he does not learn in the same way all other children do. He learns better with hands on teaching. Therefore in a normal classroom, he just wasn't able to keep up with the classwork and was brushed off when he asked a question. One teacher actually told my son, I already explained it to you twice please go back to your seat and finish the assignment using the example I gave you.......NOW IS THAT TEACHING????
Today my son is in the 7th grade and my daugher is in the 4th grade and they no longer go to the public schools, as we put them both in a parochial school here in our home town. I feel it is very sad we had to go to that extreme.
My message I would like to get out there is......Teachers and parents need to be more aware of the learning disabilities and remember it only takes an extra 10 minutes to make a difference in a child's life. That way everyone is a winner!
