I completed my practicum at St. Michael's and was particularly intrigued at the way my sponsor teacher dealt with a case of dyslexia within a school system that puts extreme emphasis on academic performance. This particular student was extremely bright, however, she could not spell and could not comprehend the curriculum literature. Financial support was by no means an issue for the school or for the parents of this student, so they hired a personal tutor that was fluent in five languages. The tutor worked with the student and my sponsor teacher and together they learned to identify root words. Spelling became a non-issue once the student was able to identify the original language and tense of a given word. My sponsor teacher also realized that this student could not comprehend texts because her brain worked overtime processing images related to the text. Comprehension was decreased because she was spending too much time picturing each word. The solution for this was to read sentences backwards as a means to slow down her reading so that her imagination could catch up. My sponsor teacher initiated this change and the result was incredible.
I read a paper written by this student and would easily admit that she had a greater understanding of the text than I had. At grade 10, she could walk into an English master's degree and succeed, given the depth of analysis she was able to write. This student would have never made it in the public system, but given the support available both educationally and financially, this student is able to access her potential and demonstrate brilliance.
I was very inspired by my sponsor's teacher's initiative and support.
No comments:
Post a Comment