Education Short List

Part 2

3. What have you been doing about these issues so far?
If you didn’t ask this during your discussion of Question 2, ask it now. Make sure you take notes of the things that have already been tried, how long they were tried for, and whether or not they are at all successful. This is important because you want to make sure that if a strategy is not working for your student, it doesn’t end up being tried again, or continued if it is unsuccessful.

4. What does the school want to do now?
If you have been called to a meeting to discuss testing your child for Special Education, the school district is required by law to provide you with paperwork that explains exactly what your rights are and what the entire process of testing, identification, and placement will look like. They are not legally allowed to do any official testing without your permission, so if you do not want to give it right then, DON’T! Tell them that you need a few days to read through the material, talk about it with your spouse and with your child, and just time to think. It is important to remember that you do not have to make any major decisions at this first meeting. At the same time, if the school has explained their concerns you and you understand them and agree that more testing might be a good thing, don’t be afraid to proceed with the testing – even if the testing comes back and indicates that your child qualifies to receive services, the school district can not do anything without your permission.

5. How long will the testing take? This is a very simple question. Most states have a 30-60 day time-limit on how long a school can take to test a student from the moment a parent signs the permission to evaluate form to when they have to meet with parents to review the testing data. Make sure you find out if the time-limit is for “school days” or “calendar days.” Have an idea of when you should be hearing back from the school with information.

This past weekend, while searching the internet for my next blog entry, I stumbled about this phrase, “We don’t ask the world to accommodate you – WE CHANGE THE WAY YOU LEARN”; from a company whose name I feel it inappropriate to mention. When you first read it, you think – wow that sounds great. But really, what is so great about it?

“We change the way you learn” – yes that sounds appealing, help me to learn another way. But that first part “We don’t ask the world to accommodate you” – why not? Why shouldn’t the world accommodate me?

The point of talking about this isn’t to bash this organization – really it’s a non-profit meant to assist people with their learning. Instead, it is to make us take a moment and think about the message that they are sending, the greater implications it presents, and how it is actually failing to be helpful.

By stating that you don’t want the world to be accommodating to a person is to say that the person isn’t good enough or special enough to be part of the world around them. That’s a very loaded statement. Personally, I would be greatly offended if anyone were to say that to me. Then, when you take it a step further and look and who is saying this – an organization whose goal is to help people with learning difficulties, find a place where they can learn – wouldn’t that just make you feel worse about yourself? Haven’t you already beaten yourself up for the fact that you don’t learn like ‘everyone else’, why would you want to get support from someone who really believes that you aren’t good enough?

My main objective in writing about this is to let people know, perhaps ones who are considering starting their own business, to really give deep thought into what your company stands for. By taking the time to develop a tagline or slogan that truly represents the message you are hoping to convey to the greater public ,then you will become more successful.

To all the people, who have a learning disorder, and to everyone in general – don’t worry about making the world accommodating you – you’re worth having someone change their view of things.

There are a number of times when I have received phone calls from concerned parents and families about their students asking about tutoring services for their child that has A.D.D. More often than not, it isn’t the case. This is NOT to say that A.D.D and A.D.H.D don’t exist and that these disorders don’t provide serious frustration for students, their families, and their teachers. It is to say however that there are times when we believe a student has symptoms of these disorders, when in actuality they don’t.

When I was a classroom teacher and now as a tutor, before I decide that a student through go through the process of being tested, and possibly, diagnosed with A.D.D. and/or A.D.H.D. there are three steps that I ask the families to look into with their home situations. For the majority of situations, changes to these three steps provides the opportunity to adjust a child’s ‘hyper level.’

SUGAR

a. How much sugar does your child consume on a daily basis? This means not just candy and soda, but their breakfast cereals, lunch foods, snacks, juice, fast food, juice boxes, etc. The USDA states that sugars found not from fruits and vegetables, should be used sparingly. For an adult, based upon a 2,000 calorie a day diet it should be no more than 12 teaspoons. For a child, depending on their age and size, you can cut that number in half or in a quarter.
b. By eliminating excess sugar, and caffeine, you can cut down on that ‘zip’ of energy and a child’s inability to focus.

ROUTINE AND SCHEDULE

a. Having a routine. For students in K-12 their lives are dictated by bells from 8am til 3pm. Yet once they get home, they can do what they want when they want. Is it so hard to believe that having to sit in a chair, follow a schedule, and not have a change during the school day would cause several students to act out? By establishing a routine of activities and times of those activities at home, it could ease the frustration a student feels during the school day.
b. Furthermore, where you child does their homework is also an area that could provide some stress. At school, all students know that their desk and their classroom is the place where they go to learn and work. At home if you do your homework on the couch – that is also the place you relax and watch TV; at the kitchen/dining room table – that’s the place where you eat and socialize; on their bed – that’s your private place and space to sleep. By creating an area that is designated purely for homework and school learning, you are mentally establishing a place to learn – nothing else.

EXERCISE

a. Anyone under the age of 18 needs at least 1 hour of rigorous physical activity a day. By rigorous we are talking sweat, pure and simple. Get outside and start sweating. Not only does it have significant health benefits, by sweating and exercising we are strengthening our most important muscle – our brain. It’s especially important to work out before we start any tasks that require us to be sedentary for an extended period of time.

Although there is no easy fix or answer to a student who feels the frustration and discouragement of being labeled with A.D.D. There are several factors that could be affecting the situation and ones that could be adjusted at home. Taking the time to think about it could alleviate that frustration. It also could eliminate the need for testing or medication.