I was shopping in TJ Maxx the other day and came upon a display of socks and tights. I noticed a pair of very stylish patterned tights labeled as “one size fits all.” I almost laughed out loud. How ridiculous! The word “all” means “the whole of; everyone of.” In an instant I thought of four friends of mine each having a different body type, height and weight. In no way would this one pair of tights fit comfortably on each of them. Ah ha, that marketing/advertising ploy would not get the best of me. So, despite the fact that the tights were pretty cool looking and were highly discounted, I pushed my cart along until I could find something more customized to fit my needs.
It got me thinking that we are faced with that same marketing/advertising tactic of “one size fits all” in our education system. It is common knowledge that not all students think alike. The term “Learning Style” was coined to describe the different ways which an individual optimally takes in, processes, stores, retrieves and presents information. Yet, when we look at the bulk of the teaching being given in the classroom, it favors one learning style more than all of the rest.
What happens when your child doesn’t learn in the “one size fits all” fashion? What happens when your child misses key concepts and ideas because the lesson plan doesn’t fit with his learning style? Well, what happens is …confusion followed by a lag in performance. If you wait long enough, what comes next is frustration, tears, anger, self-doubt and loss of self-esteem.
The whole concept of Differentiated Instruction was put forth to educators to acknowledge that lesson plans should be designed to help students learn concepts and idea in a format which best fits his/her learning style. This means that educators, intervention specialists and parents need to not only recognize the learning style of the struggling child, but become flexible and adapt the instructional approach accordingly. The method should be modified to the student rather than the student having to modify himself for the curriculum sake.
While all children are responsible for the same educational information in the end, some might need customized instructional approaches to best meet the needs of their learning styles at the start. If your child is a visual, spatial or kinesthetic learner, an auditory approach is not the best fit. An auditory approach might be the standard in your child’s classroom, more comfortable for the teacher, easier to administrate but not what is best for your child.
You might not know your child’s learning style and your journey might begin at this point by researching the topic and doing your best to identify it. See Gifted Development and Appendix C has characteristics and comparisons of the auditory-sequential learner and the visual-spatial learner. If your child has visual-spatial learning style characteristics, your answer is The Davis Method. Changing the approach to how your child learns will make all of the difference. What have you got to lose by visiting Open Door Learning Center to see if this kind of intervention is right for you or your child?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I love the analogy. I see children in the public education system first hand. I mentor girls ages 10 to 14 in Lower Price Hill. I have one girl, the oldest, whom cannot read. She cannot write. She cannot communicate. She says girls at school curse at her and make fun of her. She also speaks in a “baby” voice. I confronted her and asked her, “do you have trouble writing and reading?” She said no.
ReplyDeleteI wonder why she thinks she does not struggle. Perhaps it is because she is a “problem child”. Perhaps it is because she is “slow”. Perhaps it is because she has been told to work harder and forced to repeat, repeat, repeat but not restructure. I myself almost failed English at an elementary level but then later tested out of college English due to one-on-one tutoring. This tutoring met my needs and embraced my ideas. I learned phonics through physical demonstration and pictures. To this day, I illustrate concepts to help me remember the full meaning.
Without different approaches I would have been a statistic, a statistic of marginal error within the educational system. Fortunately, I am naturally intelligent and those who looked, saw my talents and natural ability. I was lucky to have the means to be invested in.
Observing from one angle will give you one view. Know the concept, “If it works why fix it?” Well it doesn’t work. Being in the educational minority means you have to be your own advocate. For parents, that means sacrificing on a daily basis to ensure your child’s learning. So, as a parent you pay taxes for education, you pay for additional treatment, and you pay in time. But what if the taxes you pay went to pay for learning coaches and seminars instead of the sports team. Knowledge is the best investment. Unfortunately, it is easier to justify those who fail then help solve the problem.