Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Double Entry 7

Words Failed, Then Saved Me

"Repeating third grade at a new school, after having been asked to leave my old one for hitting kids who made fun of my perceived stupidity, I was placed in the “dummy class.” There were three of us, separated from our classmates at a table in the corner of the room. One day, the teacher, who seldom spoke to us since it was understood that most of what she taught was beyond the reach of our intelligence, placed books in our hands and whispered that we should sit there quietly “pretending to read.” The principal was coming."

This kind of hit hard for me because I was that kid.  It's sad that as much as we know about learning disorders, we're still not as educated or as open minded as we should be.  What's even sadder is that, that 'dummy class' I was in, wasn't because I had a learning disability.  When I moved to that town, my fifth grade class was the largest that that school had ever had, so they had to split us into three homerooms instead of two.  There was A class, B class, and C class.  A and B were the 'smart kids' and got to have regular classes, moving around the building.  C class had to have all our classes but three in our room, which looked like a dank, converted storage closet.

Learning Disabilities in Children

This site discribes a multitude of different learning disabilities.  Also this site has information on mental and emotional aspects of a students life, as well as many other problem areas for students.

Schultz, P. (2011, September 3). Words failed, then saved me. The new york times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/opinion/sunday/with-dyslexia-words-failed-me-and-then-saved-me.html?_r=2

Kemp, G., Smith, M., & Segal, J. (2012, January). Learning disabilities in children. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/learning_disabilities.htm

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